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THE 
 
 RECESS; 
 
 O R, A 
 
 TALE of other. TU\tES. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER of ACCIDENTS, 
 
 " Are not thefe Woods 
 " Mora free from peril than the envious Court ? 
 *• Here feel we but the penalty of Adam 
 " The feafons' difference." 
 
 The THIRD EDITION, CORRECTED. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 Printed for T. Cadel l, in the Strand. 
 
 M,DCCjLXXXVII. 
 

2)-;: 
 
 TO w , 
 
 Sir JOHN ELIOT, Baronet? 
 
 S I R, 
 
 T 
 
 X Should but affront a heart which 
 finds its firft pleafure in obliging, by 
 afking a formal permiffion to publifb 
 its merits, which alone could induce 
 me to furprife you with this addrefs. 
 Time and diflance may have erafed the 
 author from your memory, but neither 
 can obliterate from hers the gratitude 
 due to a gentleman, who uniting 
 fympathy with fcience, and genercnty 
 with both, becomes to the mftering 
 a fubordinate providence. Indebted to 
 your friendly endeavours till my heart 
 is as cold as thofe even your fhill could 
 not fave, I mall always remain, 
 Sir, 
 Your highly obliged, 
 B A T H - Humble Servant, 
 
 SOPHIA LEE. 
 
Lately published, 
 By the Author of the RECESS, 
 
 A 
 
 HERMIT'S TALE: 
 
 Recorded by his own Hand, and found in his Cell. 
 
 Quarto, Price Two Shillings. 
 
 Printed for T. Cadell, in the Strand. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 NOT being permitted to publilh the rrreans 
 which enriched me with the manufcript' from 
 whence the following tale is extracted, its fim- 
 
 plicity alone can authenticate it. I make no 
 
 apology for altering the language to that of the 
 prefent age, fince the obfolete ftyle of the author 
 would be frequently unintelligible.-— A wonderful 
 coincidence of events ftamps the narration at leafl 
 with probability, and the reign of Elizabeth was 
 that of romance. If this Lady was not the child 
 of fancy, her fate can hardly be paralleled ; and 
 the line of which fhe came has been marked by 
 an eminent hillorian, as one diftinguifhed alike 
 by fplendor and mifery. 
 
 The characters interwoven in this ftory agree, 
 in the outline, with hiftory ; and if love, or 
 friendihip, veil a fault, or irradiate a virtue, it 
 is but reafonable to allow of a vveaknefs all feel 
 in fome particular inftance. As painting can 
 only preferve the moll linking characteriftics of 
 the form, hiftory perpetuates only thofe of the 
 foul ; while too often the bell and worft aftion s 
 of princes proceed from partialities and prejudi- 
 ces, which live in their hearts, and are buried 
 with them. 
 
 The 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 The depredations of time have left chafms in. 
 the ftory, which fometimes only heighten the 
 pathos. An inviolable refpe£t for truth would 
 not permit me to attempt connecting thefe, even 
 where they appeared faulty. 
 
 To the hearts of both fexes nature has enriched 
 with fenfibility, and experience with refinement, 
 this tale is humbly offered; in the pcrfuafion fuch 
 will find it worthy their patronage. 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 R E C E S S„ &c. 
 
 T O 
 
 Adelaide Marie de Montmqrenct 
 
 /\.FTt!.R a long and painful journe) 
 thiough life, with a heart exhaufted bv 
 afflictions, and eyes which can no langer 
 fupply tears to lament them, I turn my 
 every thought toward that grave on the 
 -verge of which I hover. Oh ! why then, 
 too -generous friend require me to live 
 over my misfortunes ? Such has been the 
 peculiarity of my fate, Niat though tor- 
 tured with the ■pofTdTion and the lofs of 
 
2 THE RECESS, k 
 
 every tye and hope that exalts or endears 
 humanity, let but this feeble frame be co- 
 vered with the duft from which it fprung, 
 and no trace of my ever having exifted 
 would remain, except in the wounded 
 confciences of thofe who marked me out 
 a folitary victim to the crimes of my pro- 
 genitors : For furely I could never me- 
 rit by my own the mifery of living as I 
 have done — of dying as I mud do. 
 
 Alas ! your partial affection demands a 
 memorial which calls back to bein°; all 
 the fad images buried in my bofom, and 
 opens anew every vein of my heart. Yet 
 confummatemifery has a moral ufe, and if 
 ever thefe fheets reach the publick, let the 
 tepiner at little evils learn to be jufter to 
 his God and himfelf, by unavoidable com- 
 panion. But am I not afTuming an info- 
 ler.t confequence in thus admonifhing ? 
 Alas, it is the dear-bought privilege of 
 the unfortunate to be tedious! 
 
 My life commenced with an incident {o 
 extraordinary as the following fads alone 
 could incline any one to credit. As foon 
 as capable of reflection, I found myfeif 
 
 and 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 3 
 
 and a filler of my own age, in an apart- 
 ment with a lady, and a maid advanced 
 in years. — Every day furnifhed ns with 
 whatever was necefTary for fubfiftence or 
 improvement, fupplied as it feemed by 
 fome invifible hand.; for I rarely mifFed 
 either of the few who commonly furround- 
 ed me. This Recefs could not be called 
 a cave, becaufe it was compofed of vari- 
 ieus rooms ; and the flones vere obvioufly 
 uinited by labor; yet every room wasdif- 
 i tinct, and divided from the reft by a 
 vaulted paffage with many flairs, while 
 our light proceeded fromfmall cafements 
 of painted glafs, fo infinitely above our 
 reach that we could never feek a world be- 
 yond ; and fo dim, that the beams of the 
 fun were almoft a novelty to us when 
 we quitted this retirement. Thefe re- 
 marks occurred as our minds unfolded ; 
 for at firft we were content, through habit 
 iand ignorance, nor once beftowed a 
 thought on furrounding objects. The 
 lady I have mentioned called us her chil- 
 dren, and careffed us both with parental 
 fcftdneis. — Bleft with every gentle charm, 
 B2 i£ 
 
4 THE RECESS, &c, 
 
 it is not wonderful fhe fully poffefled the 
 affections of thofe who had no one elfe to 
 idolize. Every morning we met in a 
 larger room than the reft, where a very 
 venerable man performed mafs, and con- 
 cluded with a difcourfe cabulated to en- 
 dear retirement. From him we learnt that 
 there was a terrible large place called the 
 world, where a few haughtv individuals 
 commanded miferable millions, whom a 
 few artful ones made fo j and that Provi- 
 dence had gracioufly refcuedus from both, 
 nor could we ever be fufficiently grateful. 
 Young hearts teem with unformed ideas, 
 and are but too fufceptible of elevated 
 and enthufiaftic impreffions. Time gave 
 t-his man infenfibly an influence over us, 
 as a fuperior being; to which his appear- 
 ance greatly contributed. Imagine a tall 
 and robuft figure habited in black, and 
 marked by a commanding aufterity of 
 manner*. — His features bore the traces of 
 many fcrrows, and a kind of early old 
 age, which interefted every obferver. The 
 tire and nobility of his eye, the graceful- 
 
 neis 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 5 
 
 nefs of his decay, and the heart-affecting 
 fblemnity of his voice, 
 
 While on his reverend temples grew 
 "The IhjJ'onis of the grave y 
 
 gave an authority almoft irrefiftible to Fa- 
 ther Anthony, as we called him from hear- 
 ing our mamma do fo ; to whom we under- 
 stood he was brother. He ufually partook, 
 our dinner, and from that time 'till the 
 next morning vanifhed, for we knew not 
 how or where he went. The interval we 
 pafied in little ufeful works, or in conver- 
 iation with our mamma, whofe only em- 
 ployment was that of forming our minds, 
 for the world we were taught to dread. — 
 S'be was our world, and all the tender af- 
 fections, of which I have fince proved my 
 heart fo full, centred in her, and my fif- 
 fter. Time and forrow had given a wan de- 
 licacy to features exquifitely regular, while 
 the loft fymmetry of Mrs. Marlow's per- 
 fon united to every common idea of beauty 
 &rftl elegance a feminine helpleffhefs, which 
 3s, when unaffected, the moflinterefting of 
 all charms. Her temper was equal, and 
 her underftandmg enriched by a moil ex- 
 B 3 tenfivc 
 
6 THE RECESS, &e. 
 
 tenfive knowledge, to which flie was every- 
 day adding by perpetual ftudy. Inclined 
 ilrongly by nature to ferious reflection, 
 and all her favourite employments, I ufedto 
 pafs thofe hours at her fide Ellinor de- 
 voted to Her play-things, or to Alice, 
 whofe memory was overcharged with thofe 
 marvellous tales children always delight 
 m. As our ideas every day expanded, we 
 thought more and more concerning our 
 origin, and our imprifonment. We. knew 
 that Father Anthony conftantly difappear- 
 ed, but whither was a fecret beyond our 
 comprehenfion ; for in all our refearches 
 we had never found a door except thofe 
 common to the family, and which fhut us. 
 from the world. Ellinor, whofe lively ima- 
 gination readily imbibed the romantic and 
 extravagant, conjectured that we were in 
 the power of feme giant; nay, fuch was her 
 difguft to Father Anthony, that (he feme- 
 times apprehended he was a magician, 
 and would one day or other devour us.. 
 I had a very different idea; and fancied 
 our retreat a hallowed cir^e to feclude us 
 • from the wicked, while Mther Anthony 
 
 appeared 
 
THE RECESS, k 7 
 
 appeared to me our guardian genius. Fre- 
 quently we by agreement interrogated 
 Alice, who though fond to the common 
 degree of an old nurfeof both, but more 
 efpecially Ellen, refitted thofe little arts 
 nature herfelf infpires. Our mamma we 
 now and then ventured to found, but her 
 gravity always difconcerted us, and we 
 retreated from a vain attempt. 
 
 She once abfented herfelf fourteen days, 
 and left us to our own conjectures, in a 
 fpot truly chearlefs. Part of the time we 
 fpent in fearching once more for a door, 
 and the reft in childifh lamentations for 
 her lofs j which Alice itill allured us would 
 be but a temporary one. Inflexible in -the 
 difcharge of her duty, that domeftic ftill 
 perfifted in locking our apartment every 
 day after dinner, at which time all who 
 had occafion, doubtlefs, paffed in and out 
 of the Recefs. 
 
 Being deprived of the cuflomary re- 
 fource, books, to amufe a part of our 
 melancholy leiiure, we mutually agreed to 
 invent tales from the many whole-length 
 pictures, which ornamented the befl room, 
 B 4 and 
 
8 1 H E R E C g S S, &c. 
 
 and to tike them as they came alternately. 
 FJlinor readily invented a ludicrous (lory 
 upon the portrait of an old man, which 
 made us both laugh heartily. I turned 
 my eyes to confider what I mould fay a- 
 bout the next j they relied on the figure 
 oi a man of noble mien ;. his drefs I then 
 knew no name for, but have fmce found 
 to be armour j a page held his helmet, 
 and his hair, of a pale brown, fell over 
 his moulders. He was furrounded with 
 many emblems of martial merit, and his 
 eyes, which feemed bent on me, were 
 full of a tender fweetnefs. A fentiment 
 of veneration, mingled, with furprifing 
 ibftnefs, pierced my foul al once; my 
 tongue faltered with a namelefs idea, and 
 1 relied my head againft the moulder of 
 my lifter. That dear girl turned to me 
 with quicknefs, and the beam of her eye- 
 was like that of the piclure. I furveyed 
 her over and over, and found in every 
 feature the llrongell referablance -, when 
 fhe frowned, fhe had all his dignity;. 
 when (he fmiled, all his fweetnefs. An 
 awe, I could not conquer, made me un- 
 able 
 
THE RECES' S, &c. 9 
 
 able to form any tale on that fubjec"t, and 
 I- directed my attention towards the next. 
 It reprefented a lady in the flower of 
 youth, drefc in mourning, and fceming 
 in every feature to be marked by forrow j 
 a black veil half (haded a coronet (he wept 
 over. If the laft picture awakened vene- 
 ration, this feemed to call forth a thou- 
 fand melting fenfations ; the tears rulhed 
 involuntarily into our eyes, and, clafp- 
 ing, we wept upon the bofoms of each 
 ether. " Ah! who can thefe be? cried 
 we both together. Why do our hearts 
 thus throb before inanimate canvas i 
 furely every thing we behold is but part 
 of one great rrryfteryj when will the- 
 day come, deftined to clear it up?" We 
 walked arm in arm round, and moralized 
 upon every portrait, but none interefted us- 
 like thefe ; we were never weary of fur- 
 veying, or talking about, them; a young 
 heart is frequently engroffed by a favorite 
 idea, amid all the o-lare of the great 
 world; nor is it then wonderful ours were 
 thus pofieffed when entombed alive in fuch. 
 a narrow boundary. I knew not why, 
 
 but 
 
xo T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 but we lived in the prefence of thefe pic- 
 tures as if they had underftood us, and 
 blufhed when we were guilty of the 
 flighted folly. 
 
 The moment our mamma returned, we 
 flew into her arms, and interrupted her 
 tender careffes with importunate enquiries 
 concerning thefe favorite pictures. She 
 regarded us with afronifhment — her eyes 
 filled with tears, and fhe bade us leave her 
 to recover herfelf alone. Shortly after flie 
 fummoned Alice, and held with her a 
 converfation which reftored her tranquil- 
 lity j but flie Carefolly avoided our enqui- 
 ries, endeavouring to diverfify our hours 
 by mufic, drawing, poetry, geography, 
 and every ornamental branch of educa- 
 tion. Whenever we verged toward an 
 hint about the retreat— " wait, my dear 
 girls, fhe would fay, the appointed hour-— 
 alas, one may follow it, when you will 
 wifh yourfelves (till uninformed."— Im- 
 prefTed by thefe words with an undefina- 
 ble melancholy, our years paiTed on 'till 
 
 womanhood approached. 
 
 Pardon 
 
THE R E C E S S, &c. n 
 
 Pardon me if I linger over thefe feenesj 
 alas, I have but few fuch to relate, and they 
 are all of my life upon which- my heart 
 dares to paufe. How are we born to in- 
 vent our own miferies ! We ftart forward 
 from the goal of youth, fearlcfs and im- 
 patient, nor know the heights and depths 
 through which we mufl labour; opprefTed 
 in turn by every element, and often over- 
 whelmed with that mod infupportable of all- 
 burthens, our own diftatisned foulb. How- 
 have 1 wept the moment I quitted the 
 Recefs — a aioment I then lived but in the 
 hope o[ ! To be always erring, is the 
 weaknefs of humanity, and to be always 
 repenting, itspunifhmenr. — Alas! could 
 we learn wifdom without experience, man- 
 kind would perhaps be too happy. 
 
 Father Anthony in time ingratiated 
 Kimfelf with us, by his continual remon- 
 ftrances againft our being (hut up in a 
 place which bounded our ideas fo much 
 that he defpaired of making us comprehend 
 half of what he taught us. We feconded 
 his advice with endlefs entreaties. Our 
 mamma, who was perfuafion itfelf in her 
 
 owa 
 
12 T H E RECESS, Me. 
 
 own perfon, was not proof againft it in that 
 •of another. " Alas, my children, would 
 ihe often fay, by what fatality do you fo' 
 pailionately 'defire to leave a home, you 
 will hereafter remember with a pleafure 
 full of regret? In vain you would return 
 to it — you will lofe a tafle for the tranquil 
 enjoyments this folitude offers, without 
 perhaps finding any to fupply them. Yet 
 far be the felfifh weaknefs from my heart 
 cf punifhing you, even for your welfare; 
 You mall fee this admired world. May 
 it ever pleafe you as it will at firffc 
 fight!" -' 
 
 We embraced her with youthful tranf* 
 port, and then each other — cc Wefhall grj 
 at lai!, exclaimed both together, we mall 
 fee many more like ourfelves !" 
 
 •■ What fay you, children ? cried fhej 
 ah ! you will fee few indeed like your- 
 felves." 
 
 The next day was appointed for our 
 enfranchifement. We packed and unpack- 
 ed our little luggage fifty times over for 
 mere employment, 'till the appointed hour 
 came; when we were fummoned to the 
 
 chamber 
 
THE RECESS,- &c. 13 
 
 chamber of our only friend, who was 
 walking about apparently agitated with a 
 fecret. 
 
 " Are you grieved, mamma, cried I, 
 that we are going to be happy ?" 
 
 4t Ah no, Matilda ! I am grieved, be- 
 caufe I think you arejuftceafing to befo. 
 In this peaceful folitude I could fupply to 
 you every loft relation — the adopted chil- 
 dren of my heart, I flood between you and 
 a fate at once diftinguifhed, obfcure, ^rf<l 
 affecting. — Alas, why do you wreft your- 
 felves and your fecret from me ? Why 
 do you oblige me to tell you, you muft 
 never more call me any thing but Mrs. 
 Marlow ?" 
 
 " Never more call you mammal fighed 
 I, inconerently, who then are our pa- 
 rents ?" 
 
 " You have no father: he who gave you 
 cxiftence deeps in the bofom of God." 
 
 * f Our mother " 
 
 ■" Lives — but not for you — enquire no 
 farther; let this fpecimen of knowledge 
 teach you to fear it. — When the time re- 
 quires it, I ihaM ciiiclofe your whole (lory; 
 
 -^-weep 
 
14 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 — weep no more, my lovely, my affecting' 
 girls; I haveloftbut a name ; for my nature 
 is unalterable. All who will fee us know 
 that I never was married, which abfo- 
 lutely compelled me to this difcovery. 
 But I dare believe they will rely on my 
 rectitude, and welcome you by whatever 
 appellation I fhall think proper to give 
 you. Reafons you will hereafter know, in- 
 duce me always to conceal a retreat, where 
 alone I could have hid you, and both mutt, 
 •ere we leave it, folemnly promife never 
 ■to difclofe the fecret." 
 
 Chilled with this awful preparation, 
 our defire of liberty vanifhed ■, we felt 
 like links flruck from the chain of crea- 
 tion ; and ftill with reftlefs minds ex- 
 plored the remainder of a myftery which 
 we wept by anticipation. " She lives, but 
 not for you!" were words whofe found 
 vibrated to my heart while pleafure dan- . • 
 ,ced around me, and the doubt attending 
 the future, oi'ten robbed the prefent of 
 -enjoyment. 
 
 After we had made at her knees the 
 ilrict promife required, Die mufficd our 
 
 faces; 
 
THE RECESS, &ci 15 
 
 faces, and taking my hand, as Alice did 
 my lifter's, led us through many cold paf- 
 fao-es for fome minutes ; when unbinding 
 our eyes, we found ourfelves in a noble 
 cloifter. We flew into the garden it bor- 
 deied, and how ftrong was the impreffion 
 of thefcene before us ! from the manfion, 
 which flood on a hill, fpread a rich and 
 fertile valley, mingled with thickets, half 
 feen or cluftered hamlets, while through 
 the living landfcape flowed a clear river, 
 
 •» -and to the main 
 
 Xhe liquid fer pent drew his filver train. 
 
 ' The fun was finking, involved in fwell- 
 \x\& waves of gold and purple, upon whom 
 we almoft gazed ourfelves blind : for 
 though we had often read and heard of 
 his effulgence, the author of univerfal 
 being can alone difplav it. Imagination, 
 ! Madam, may fometimes furpafs the won- 
 ders of art, but thofe of nature leave all 
 imagination-far behind. 
 
 Mis. Marlowied us through the Abbey, 
 which might rather be called a palace : it 
 
 was 
 
*6 THE R.EC.ESS, &c. 
 
 was erected upon. the ruins of aMonafiery 
 deftroyed at the Reformation, and itill 
 was called by the name of St. Vincent. 
 It had all the Gothic magnificence and 
 .elfgance, and we learnt with pleafure 
 that Mrs. Marlow, the filler of its owner, 
 Lord Scroope, was confidered by every 
 fervant as its miflrefs. A noble apartment 
 within hers was allotted for us, and the 
 charms of the new world mingled with 
 our melancholy reveries, alike deftroying 
 our repofe. The rifing of the fun, 
 whofe fir ft beams gilt our windows, 
 rouled us entirely. Methinks, while I 
 expatiate on thefe trifies, time feems fuf- 
 pended, and the fcene dill living before 
 me. The rich dew-drops, thofe jewels 
 with which nature decks her bofom, glit- 
 tering to the rays that wandered over the 
 grafs; the various animals that feemed 
 to derive a daily exiftence from the return 
 of that glorious orb ; the morning hymn x 
 of the winged creation, — all united to 
 awaken our gratitude, and humble us be- 
 .fbre the author of our being. <c Accept, 
 •oh God, would we cry fpontaneoufly, the 
 4 ad-o ration 
 
THE RECESS,. Sec. tf 
 
 adoration of two hearts, who know no 
 claim in this mighty univerle but thee ! 
 •oh deign to bleis the defire of doing right 
 with the power ! and if ibrrow only is our 
 portion, ianctify it with refignation : fo 
 when time delivers us up to eternity, hope 
 mav be our conductor !" 
 
 We were delighted with a playful group 
 of fawns. and deer, with whom we longed 
 tofrolick, andftole.throughMrs.Marlow's 
 chamber into the park, by a pafTage Cl\c 
 i had pointed out to us the day before 
 What was our furprife when we faw. thofe 
 ■■with whom we had in idea mingled, were 
 ! large fierce creatures, and. that had they 
 not run from us, we muft from them ; 
 that every bird feared its natural pro- 
 tector, and that man lived in a continual 
 warfare with every thing in creation, even 
 to his own fpecies ! 
 
 I am tedious, and mult have done with 
 thefe puerilities, whieh yet on .reflection 
 yield the purelt pleafuresof our lives. Mrs- 
 Marlow loon procured for us the beft in- 
 ftructors in every art and icience that re- 
 mote refidence afforded, and, by her ow.^ 
 
 Vol. I. C examoiej 
 
rB THE RECESS, & c . 
 
 example, gave an elegant fin i fa to our 
 manners, precept never can. Extremely- 
 detached, by ourfituation. from ibciety, we 
 eafily difcernedthatMrs. Marlow was will- 
 ing we fhould be fo, for fhe frequently ex- 
 preffed anxiety at the thoughts of Lord 
 Scroope's return ; who, I underilood, had 
 been fent ambafTador to the Hague from 
 Queen Elizabeth. Our mailers, our fer- 
 vants, and the various ruftics who tenant- 
 ed the eftate, met in the chapel of St. Vin- 
 cent's Abbey once a week, and thofe were 
 all our intercourfe with fociety. On the 
 evening of everv Sunday we regularly 
 went to the cell of Father Anthony, which 
 was a cotraifed by Lord Scroope (to whom 
 he flood in the fame relation as Mrs. Mar- 
 low) on the verge of a large wood that | 
 fheltered the manfion behind. Here, while 
 we were indulged with all thofe fimple 
 repafts novelty gives charms to, our minds 
 were enlarged by converfatiohs on every 
 thing. fuhlime or inftructive. If benevo- 
 lence drew Mrs. Marlow abroad, fhe 
 made us always her companions, and gave 
 her alms but through our lands; ordering 
 
 us 
 
T HE RECESS, Sic. i 9 
 
 us ever to add fome mite of our own, in 
 
 proportion to our nicans. Avarice is 
 
 rarely the vice of youth; at kaft, if I may 
 
 judge by my own heart; for the chief joy 
 
 of receiving, tome, was that of giving. 
 
 Nor CQukl Charity have deicended to earth 
 
 in a more lovely form, than Mrs". 
 
 Marlow's. At a tale of difrrefs her eves 
 
 ailumed a melting benignity rarely f 
 
 and never defcribed; while her approach 
 
 gave that pleafure to every fufferer, one 
 
 fhould feel at the vifible prefence of k 
 
 auardian angel. «f 
 
 Three years elapfed in this manner, ere 
 
 jLord Scroope returned; and when he did, 
 
 ie was lo deeply engaged in politics, that 
 
 he various pre fen rs he continual >y frnt 
 
 rom London, made to us the only dif- 
 
 "erence. 
 
 Still -the fad found, — "your mother 
 ives — -but not for you !" rung through 
 far hearts occasionally ; (till we equal; vde- 
 ired to drfcover the Recefs; ancf'wail- 
 fered through St. Vincent's Abbev with 
 fte lame curiofity we once before did 
 iirough our retirement. The more we re- 
 C 2 fle&eri* 
 
so THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 flefted, the more we were convinced that 
 it muft be near us; but the refpect we had 
 for Mrs. Marlow's folemn injunctions, 
 fealed our lips to every fervant, and we ne- 
 ver were allowed to ramble unattended. 
 
 Mrs. Marlow, endued with the pureft 
 principles, juftly conceived happincfs the 
 nobleft ufe of underftandingj and bent 
 Jier whole attention towards convincing 
 us, that the fate appointed us was the moft 
 <lefirable in the world. "Here, would 
 flie fay, in a happy retirement, free alike 
 from the drudgeries of high or low life, 
 peace and innocence becalm your hearts, 
 and bloom on your cheeks. Unenvying 
 and unenvied as now, may that moment 
 find you none can avoid 1 Ah, how un- 
 like the crimes and miferies oi a court ! 
 There you can have no vice fo injurious 
 to yourfelvcs as candor ; no merit, like 
 hypocrify. 1 ove and friend (hip are un- 
 known, and their names made ufe of but 
 to entrap the unwary. "Women who have 
 beauty are deftroyed by it, and all who 
 .have not,, are neglected. The gifts of man 
 take place of the gifts of God, and money 
 
 alone 
 
THE RI'C E S S, &c. 21 
 
 hlone conftitutes merit. — Ah, never! ne 
 Ver ! my dear girls, can you enough blefs 
 that indulgent Providence, which with- 
 draws you from the danger !" 
 
 Shall I confefs mv vanity? When I 
 looked in the glafs, I did not think I 
 fhould be neglefted, even at court. I ha.d 
 no opportunity of forming any juft com- 
 parifon indeed ; for the ruftics around us,, 
 fcorched with toil, had only charms 
 •enough lefc to mew what they might have 
 bten with care. The clearnefs of my 
 ^complexion, and the delicacy of my fea- 
 tures left me no equal, but my lifter: 
 Kay, even our habits, though often only 
 'of a finer camblet than theirs, were made 
 Tn To different a manner, that they did not 
 appear to be compofed of the fame mate- 
 .Tiajs. 
 
 However difpofed to profit by the ad- 
 .yice of our more than parent, Heaven 
 4id. not permit us to be happy. The 
 clouds broke at once over our heads j 
 .Mrs. Marlow, our only tye on earth,, and 
 .therefore doubly prized, was feized with a 
 •fever i the more dangerous, becaufe it 
 C % w^ 5 
 
22 THE RECESS, &c- 
 
 was not violent enough at firft to appear 
 fo. To paint our diflraflion would be 
 a vain attempt. Kneeling on each fide 
 her bed, for fourteen days and nights, we 
 by tears and inward Replications perfe- 
 cuted the Almighty. Affectionately at- 
 tached to us, fhe ftruegled for our lakes 
 with the diibrder, 'till having worn her 
 down to a fkeleton,it began at laft to abate; 
 but notwithstanding every effort of art,, 
 could never be eradicated. Scarce had we 
 breathed after this difcrefs, when an ex- 
 prefs from London delivered a pacquet to- 
 Mrs. Marlow, which occafioned her in- 
 ftsntly to fummoti Father Anthony ; they 
 remained in confultation for fome time,, 
 when they bade Alice order us inftantly to 
 join them. 
 
 4 < My children, faid Mrs. Marlow,, 
 faintly^ an unforefeen event obliges us 
 once more to retire to the Recefs. Every 
 thing is at this moment preparing for our 
 reception. You are now at years to judge 
 of the importance of its concealment, nor 
 will I longer make it a myftery. — But why 
 thus afflict yourfelves for a temporary re- 
 paint* 
 
THE R E C E S S; &c. 25 
 
 itraint ? If I am willing, for your fakes, 
 to be carried thither, like a corpie into 
 a tomb, i'urely you will not be fo un- 
 generous as to vent one felfiih lamen- 
 tation ?" 
 
 Effectually filenced by this noble re- 
 proof, we collected, in confufion and 
 grief, our clothes and ornaments ; when, 
 returning to her room, we found there 
 Fa r her Anthony, an old domeftick called 
 James, Alice, and the Houfekeeper ; who, 
 having difperfed the other fervants, pre- 
 ceded us to a ftore-room on the ground 
 floor, and opening a prefs, unfaliened a 
 falfe back, which conducted us into aclo- 
 fet, dark, but for our torches. She then 
 lifted a part of the floor, fitted very neatly, 
 and difcovered a narrow pair of flairs, 
 down which we went, leaving her behind, 
 and effectually fee u red ourfelves, by bolt- 
 ing it firmly on the infide. We pad 
 through feveral fubterraneous pafiages 
 built on arches, and preferved from damps 
 by cavities which patted through every 
 ftatue that ornamented the garden, 'till at 
 lad we reached our priibn. But judge of 
 C 4 my 
 
24 THE RECESS, kc 
 
 my aftonifhment, when I found the fo of- 
 ten-fought entrance was a door of the fize 
 of that portrait which firft gave me fuch 
 lingular fenfations, and which I perceived- 
 was made to fall together, with a fpring 
 almoft imperceptible. 
 
 Father Anthony filcnced the exclama- 
 tions I would have made, and drew me at 
 once to Mrs. Marlow j who, pale and 
 lifelefs with the fatigue of this removal/ 
 gave additional terrors to the moment.. 
 Whether the agitation of her mind had in- 
 creafed her malady, or it was originally' 
 beyond cure, I know not; but faw, witlv 
 fpeechlefs affii&ion, from the moment of 
 our return to the Recefs, that (lie would 
 never leave it alive. Enclofed in foli- 
 tude, without fufficientair, attendance, or 
 advice, we beheld her finifh her generous 
 attachment to us, by refoluteiy refifting 
 our intreaties. 
 
 * f Let us quit this dreary place, I would 
 fay, if but for a cottage. Let us not, in 
 lofing you, have the cruel aggravation of 
 contributing, to fo great a misfortune.--* 
 
 Oh.l 
 
THE RECES S3 &fc. s* 
 
 i J 
 
 Oh !' what more can we have to fear, than 
 the lofs of all we love ?" 
 
 V Why, why, my children, returned 
 Ihe, thus embitter a common fate ? Can 
 
 .1, who have voluntarily palled my youth 
 in a tomb, dread to bury my dull in it ? 
 You know my opinion is lingular, nor 
 
 >do I think man could avert the ftroke 
 wh^n God recalls us, however wife or 
 willing. If I had been taken earlier 
 
 I from you,, indeed, heavy to all muft 
 
 I have been the calamity ; but after having 
 taught you to live, there remains this 
 
 1 ©nly leffon > and my duty is complete; 
 you now are enabled to judge for your- 
 felves, confide in God, and he will not 
 defert you." 
 
 : tc Alas ! would I cry, drowned in tears, 
 from your eye alone have we learnt when 
 we did any thing aright ; we (hall no lon- 
 ger know good from evil when that dear 
 eye is clofed." 
 
 cc Matilda-, replied me with a folemn 
 air, remember only when you are called, 
 to any important action, to confult your 
 heart in iblitude ; God has placed in that 
 
 heart 
 
to. 
 
 26 T H E R E C E S S, 8 
 
 heart an unerring monitor, and if we 
 hear not the fmall frill voice, it is becauie 
 we drown it in the noife of the world ; 
 then mall we meet again to part no 
 more; then at the tribunal of the Mod 
 High, I lliall gladly fay, ' c thefe creatures 
 O Lord, clidft thou entruit to my care 
 unfuliied, behold even lb I reftore them." 
 
 Rifing up as ihe pronounced thefe 
 words, fhe held a hand of each of us to her 
 heart, while her eyes dreamed with a kind 
 of glory when lifted toward her Creator. 
 Never did I fee fuch An animated figure ; 
 her foul feemed that moment bu riling; 
 from its beauteous manfion to join its filler 
 angels. 
 
 "Matilda and Eiiinor, my more than' 
 children, you recollect, laid me, I fup- 
 prefTed your curiofity once, by telling you, 
 I would reveal your fecret finally when the 
 hour demanded it. That hour is come. 
 Alas ! I cannot but weep to remember, 
 that a thoufand interefting ideas are 
 now going to detach your affections from 
 her who agonizes over you." 
 
 We 
 
T H E RECESS, &c. 27 
 
 We kifTed her hand in fpeechlefs fur- 
 row 
 
 " 'Tis true, continued (lie, my brother 
 might hereafter difclofe your ftory, but 
 there are among its incidents,, fome that 
 need the gentlenefs of a woman to teach 
 you to bewail, without imitating. In this- 
 little hiftory you will find the full motive 
 of my retreat, and the means by which it 
 was effected, 
 
 <c You already know I am .filler to the 
 prefent Lord Scroope, but you know not:, 
 that I derived my birth from the ill-judged 
 zeal of my mother. Bred up a Papift,, 
 fhe no fooner entertained a pafiion for 
 Lord Scroope,. than fhe formed a defigrv 
 to convert him to the Catholick religion.. 
 ■She was handfome, as 1 have always heard,, 
 and he was young j he affected to be ien-^ 
 fible of her efforts, which redoubled her 
 real. She thought the love of Heaven, 
 alone actuated her heart, but he took ad- 
 vantage of thole moments, and fhe found 
 too late that fhe had facrifkedherown foul's, 
 welfare to his indulgence : her relations,. 
 
 who 
 
d8 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 who had the more encouraged her, as rmr 
 father was a great match in point of for- 
 tune, exafperated at an error they ought 
 rather to have charged themfelves with, 
 fhut her up, and treated her with the ut- 
 mod rigor. 
 
 " In this terrible fituation fhe was deli- 
 vered of me; her relations took me in- 
 ffcantly from her fight ; they wrapt me inc 
 the inoft difgraceful habiliments, and fent 
 mtr, with a letter full of the bittereft threats 
 and taunts, to my father. Far, however, 
 from feeling that indifference very young 
 men ufually behold their offspring with, 
 he received me as the firfl gift cf Heaven, 
 and, committing me to the charge of pro- 
 per people, made me of no lefs confe- 
 rence than if I had been his legitimate 
 daughter, and heirefsof his eftate. 
 ' " In the mean time my mother was 
 kept in total ignorance of the fate of her 
 child ; miferable in her own heart, and 
 eternally taunted for the difgrace fhe nan 
 brought on her family, fhe at length re- 
 folved to ' make her efcape . to Lore! 
 Scrooped" fhe ejected it, and found m 
 
 his 
 
T H E . R E C E S S, . &c. « 9 
 
 his houfc the treafure of all her hopes, 
 her child: but as fhe was not of an aee 
 to beindependent, on her being difcovered 
 by her kindred, Ihe was again torn from 
 his arms, and I was forever bereaved of a 
 mother before I was fenfible I had one. 
 How often did my father repent his in- 
 juftice to her! it hung heavy on his foul in 
 life, and was moft terrible in death. In vain 
 he fought her, for never from that hour 
 did Heaven permit the erring pair to meet. 
 A few years afterwards he married, and 
 had by his wife the prefent Lord ; this 
 circumftance, far from leffening his affec- 
 tion, endeared me ft ill more to himj he re- 
 membered that 1 had no fortune but from 
 his bounty, no claim but on his heart. 
 His Lady having no more children, be- 
 gan to confider me as her daughter, and 
 the misfortune of my birth was almoft 
 forgotten. In this fituation I grew wu 
 •carefted by all his friends, and admired f 
 infinitely more than I deferved ; for, from 
 the time my brother grew of an age to 
 appear in the world, Lord Scroope had 
 left St. Vincent's Abbey for the Court. 
 
 Many 
 
3 o THE RECESS, W. 
 
 Many matches offered, of which my Fa- 
 ther often entreated me to chufe. 1 how- 
 ever law no man with a preference; and 
 as I was fenfible my heart was too tender 
 not to become partial, I wifhed to evade 
 all propofals till then. ] had in this in-- 
 terval the misfortune to lofe my father, 
 whofe fen-fes failing him in his I aft fick- 
 nefs, he had no power to make a neceffary 
 provifion for me; yet in this delirium he 
 raved of me and my mother continually. 
 I felt this lofs the lefs fenfibly, as I was 
 treated with the utmoil generofity and 
 tendernefs by my brother and the'dowd- 
 "crer Lady Scroope; but I found my train 
 of admirers diminiih apace, when one 
 appeared, who atoned in my eyes for the 
 lofs of a tfnufand. He was a young Weft- 
 'Indian, poifeffed of a confiderabie for- 
 tune, an amiable pcrlon, and an untainted 
 heart. When I fay I loved him I" ipe.ik 
 but coldly ; you will know 'how well here- 
 after. Mr. Colville, for that was his 
 iiime, was of a character too much! re- 
 feVnblihg the young Lord Scroope's, not 
 jo be favoured by him. He proved by 
 
 4 the 
 
THE RECESS, &t. 
 
 5' 
 
 the generofity of his behaviour, the fince- 
 frity of his love : neither the misfortune 
 of my birth, or want of riches, dimi- 
 nifhed his ardor; but rather, on the con- 
 trary, augmented it. His fortune was 
 independent, and I was not defirous of 
 more than a very moderate competence. 
 The day of our marriage was fixed, and 
 arrived equally wiihed by both. We were 
 united in the prefence of the Lord and 
 Lady Scroope, who had loaded me with 
 noble gifts. Our hearts were gay, and 
 | large company, afTembled on the oc- 
 cafion, invented a thoufand diverfions. I 
 was fitting after dinner at the head of the 
 table, finging, when a fervant entered and 
 jwhifpered my hufoand; he role up, and. 
 followed the man into the next roam ; 
 my eyes were ind urinous to find him, 
 and as he left the door open, I perceived 
 him, from an oppofite pier glafs, tike a 
 packet of letters from adrangerj he held 
 them in his hand 'till I ceafed finging, and 
 then began reading: he continued to do 
 To for fonie minutes, wren I fav his hand 
 'ihake with great violence, which foon di- 
 minishing, 
 
32 THE RECESS, k 
 
 minifhing, he fell to the ground. I 
 ran to him in the utmoft agitation, — 
 he was cold and convulfed. I took up 
 the papers; but had not read half as far, 
 before I was as infenfibleas himfelf. 
 
 (Mrs. Marlow was fj affected at this 
 paffage, fhe had not power to proceed ; at 
 lad recovering, fhe held up her hands, 
 -while her fine eyes were drowned in tears, 
 and repeated) 
 
 " Let me not, oh God, fince I furvived 
 that moment, fink under the remem- 
 brance of it! I muft cut fhort defcription, 
 my children, on a circumftance which fo 
 nearly affects my heart. The letters were 
 from his mother j after telling him me- 
 had fuffered him to depart with the more 
 -cafe for England, as fhe wiflied to have 
 an opportunity of declaring a fecret to 
 'him, fharne had long fuppreffed, and 
 •which her decaying health forbid her Ion- • 
 -oer to conceal, fhe related the incidents of 
 her life ; a few of which decided our -fate, 
 and convinced me that the fame parents • 
 had given birth to both. What a terrible 
 difcovery! I fhall .pafs over thofe events 
 
 you 
 
THE RECESS, &c, 33 
 
 you already know, and only mention,- 
 thaton being forced by her tyrannical re- 
 lations from Lord Scroope's houfe, they 
 fent her under the care of an uncle, in the 
 5panifh fervice, to the Weft-Indies. Dur- V 
 njg the palTage, ihe found herfelf again' 
 »vith-child; her kinfman, exafperated at 
 :hiscircumftance, ufed every means topre- 
 /ail on her to marry Mr. Colville (a fettler 
 vhofe plantations joined his, and who was a" 
 aaffenger on board the fame veiTel) without 
 4£quainting him with her fituation. Per- 
 ecuted and difcrelTed, fhe at la ft took a 
 ^folution on the firft occafion, to declare 
 ,11 to her lover. His afiiduity furniihed 
 icr with one ere long, which fhe did not 
 .leglect. As foon as he had conquered 
 us furprife, he aiTured her fhe fhould ne- 
 ;er repent her generous confidence in his 
 honour, which affected him the more fen- ; 
 ;bly as his friend would meanly have de- 
 rived him. He owned himfeif fo at- 
 iched, that if (he could give up fruftiefs - 
 opes to partake his fortune, he would, 
 wry her ^directly, without claiming any 
 ight. from the. ceremony, but that of re- 
 Vol. I. D Icafincr 
 
3* THE RECESS, k 
 
 leafing her from the tyranny of her kin- 
 dred, and hereafter providing in the fame 
 manner for her child as he would for any 
 of his own. Overcome with the feverity 
 of her treatment, from thofe who were 
 bound to pity her, and fenfible the Gran- 
 ger who could fpeak fo generoufl yon the 
 fubjecT:, might make her as happy as me 
 now durft hope to be, me requefted time 
 to deliberate on the propofa], which he 
 granted. Some days elapfed, during 
 which, fhe refolved to fecure to herfelf 
 t'he privilege of keeping one of her chil- 
 dren, by confenting. They were united 
 oy a holy father then on board, who at 
 Mr. Colville's defire, gave out that he 
 nad married them two months before in 
 London, but concealed it from fome mo- 
 tives refpecting the lady's friends. Her 
 uncle, under whofe care me was, not 
 fufpe&ing the eclairciffement, was afto- 
 nifhed how fhe had brought her lover 
 to confent to this ; but, as his authority 
 was at an end by her compliance with his' 
 wifhes, he affcdted the utmoft fatisfaclion, 
 and offered them fome valuable prefenrs. ; 
 
 Mr. : 
 
 I 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 3$ 
 
 Mr. Colville, whofe ingenuous heart ab- 
 horred his meannefs, refufed with con- 
 tempt thofe poor compenfations, for a 
 deceit which might have proved fo fatal 
 to his happinefs, nor left him to fuppofe 
 •he was ignorant of the favor intended 
 him. He painted the infamy of the pro- 
 ceeding in the ftrongeft colours, and on 
 their arrival at Jamaica, carried his bride 
 to his own plantation, without deigning to 
 take leave of her relations. * Here, faid 
 the dear lady, I gave birth, my fon, to 
 you, and here I firft learnt to be happy. 
 The generous kindnefs with which Mr, 
 Colville treaced you, the unwearied at- 
 tention he mewed to me, deferved, and 
 obtained my whole heart. It feemed as 
 if the fincerity of my conduct had can- 
 ceiled its errors ; I may truly fay, I ne- 
 ver faw him carefe you, without ardently 
 wiihing you had a claim to the name lie 
 bellowed on you. You grew up without 
 ;my ever hearing of your real father, and 
 as it little became me to wound the heart 
 of my hu/band, I preferved an abfolute 
 fileace on the fubjecl, nor feemed to re- 
 D 2 member 
 
3 6 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 member fuch a perfon ever had exifred. 
 I will not fay I never thought of him; na- 
 ture taught you to recall him to my mind 
 by a thou land artlefs geftures. — I gave 
 you, after fome years, two fillers and a 
 brother, the lofs of whom you doubtlefs 
 remember. A generous, though filent 
 ftruggle, continued during their lives, be- 
 tween Mr. Colville and myfelf ; I always 
 attempted to convince him that you, 
 though the elder, had no more than a juft 
 portion of my love ; and he, no lefs anx- 
 ioufly, fought to fatisfy me that his own 
 children had not made him forget what 
 he had promifed refpedting you. Hea- 
 ven, however, took them to itfelf, and 
 Mr. Colville divided between you and me 
 a fortune too dearly gained by his lofs ; 
 though you have paid the tribute of filial 
 gratitude over his grave, my fon remember 
 thatisinfufEcientj you owe him every thing, 
 and can never difcharge the obligation. 
 Your youth, and the pleafure Mr. Colville 
 took in being called your father, made 
 it very improper that Ifhould intruft to you 
 a fecret fo humiliating to myfelf, and dif- 
 
 treiling 
 
THE R E C E S 5, &c. 37 
 
 treffing to him; yet, fenfible of the necef- 
 fity, I have, fince his death, a thoufand 
 times refolved on it, and as conftantly 
 given up the defign. At laft, my dear 
 child, you rendered it eafier to me, by 
 propofmg to vifit England, and I iuffered 
 you to go with the lefs regret, becaufe I 
 hoped you there would find another pa- 
 rent; one whofe claim in you is the fame 
 with mine, and one, who I am allured, 
 will proudly acknowledge you. Go .'then, 
 my dear -Anthony, to Lord Scrpope; 
 fhew him this letter: tell him, fori am 
 not afraid to fay it, even to yourfelf, that I 
 fend him a fon worthier of a nobler name 
 than the weaknefs of your mother has given 
 you. Tell him, 1 will not allow him to 
 provide for your lifter Gertrude, fince the 
 fortune I poffefs is already deftined to her, 
 if living. Do you, my dear Anthony, re- 
 pair my lofs to her, for never, in refpect 
 to my hufband's memory, will I fee again 
 the father of my chiidrenj this place fhall 
 be my grave, and here, while life remains, 
 li I will blefs you both, and pray that 
 D 3 the 
 
3$ THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 the fins of your parents may never be vi- 
 fked upon either. 
 
 "Vain wifh, faid Mrs. Mario w ; the 
 ftroke was already given. Judge forme,, 
 my dear girls, what I felt on reading 
 fuch tender fentiments, and remember- 
 ing the characters were thofe of a mo- 
 ther! 
 
 " We were removed to feparate apart- 
 ments j Mr. Colville, no longer my huf- 
 band, had ftrength of constitution, but 
 not ftrength of mind, to fupport this ca- 
 lamity 5 he fell into a deep melancholy, 
 and fhut himfelf from all the world : as 
 to me, Heaven, in mercy, took away my 
 fentes by a violent fever ; I remained 
 in a dangerous Situation feveral weeks, 
 during which time he formed a relblu- 
 tion, my restoration gave him an opportu- 
 nity to effecl. Each wanting courage to 
 fee the other, he informed me, by letter,. 
 he only waited my confent to return to 
 his own country, and difpofeof his effects, 
 the produce of which might endow the 
 monaftery where he mould receive the 
 holy habit. He conjured me to fupport 
 
 a mif- 
 
THE RECESS, .&c. 39 
 
 a misfortune, his letter convinced me, he 
 \ was ready to fink under. The fad choice 
 I }ie had made was already mine ; I wrote 
 to inform him of its I conjured him ne- 
 ver to betray to our mother the fatal event 
 1 of her concealment, but to pcrfuade her 
 we were both happy, — What a vain re- 
 queft! had not Heaven deprived her pf 
 ever feeing him, how could he have con- 
 cealed fo exquifite a diftrefs ? A wound 
 in the heart will ever bleed on the flighteft 
 touch. 
 
 <c 1 recovered my fenfes, but that difgufl 
 with which every difappointment (and 
 how much more fo deep a one!) over- 
 whelms a young mind, made every thing 
 odious to me ; the hours when I was fo 
 pleafmgly deceived, were all I reckoned 
 in my life. Before I left my room, my 
 Lord's marriage with the Lady Matilda 
 Howard was concluded ; his union with 
 the .firft Lady in "England, both in birth 
 and beauty, gave the greatest pleafure to 
 all who loved him. Little able, and lefs 
 difpofed to afiifc at feftivities, I retired 
 on the plea of bad health to the Abbey. 
 D 4 The 
 
40 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 The death of the Dowager Lady Scroops 
 in the midft of the pleasures, entirely- 
 damped them. Lord Scroope conducted 
 his new Lady into the country, to pafs 
 the time of mourning; the amiable en- 
 gaging bride conceived a friendfhip for 
 me, which, as is frequently the cafe in 
 noble minds, had perhaps its fburce in 
 my misfortunes. With all the graces that 
 adorn grandeur, Lady Scroope had the 
 fwee: fimplicity of a village maid; a heart 
 full of the mod exquifite delicacy and 
 fenfibility, and features which did juftice 
 to her mind. My Lord perfectly adored 
 her, and her rank and charms foon made 
 me find St. Vincent's Abbey no longer a 
 retirement. 
 
 " A letter came in a fhort time from my 
 brother, which informed me, that on his 
 arrival at Jamaica, he found my mother 
 had died during his abfencej this was 
 accompaniei with bills for a large fum, 
 as my portion of her valuable legacy. 
 There is fomething fo tender in the name, 
 the idea of a mother, although unknown, 
 that in fpite of my other afflictions, I'foimd 
 
 a very 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 4 t 
 
 ;a very fenfible one in her lofs. My heart 
 had now no refting place. Before, the re- 
 membrance that the blow came from her, 
 however unintentional ly, gave me a little 
 courage, which I was not fure I poffefTed 
 till it was loft. There is a pleafure to 
 ihearts capable of refinement, in facrificing 
 fomething to the friends we love ; the fi- 
 lence we endured to fave her from difbrefs 
 hadleffened mine, which now broke forth 
 anew. The amiable Lady Scroope neg- 
 lected nothing to foften it; me ufed every 
 effort to prevent my retiring to the mo- 
 laftery, as I had purpofed, and her influ- 
 ence over her Lord made her wifhes too 
 ,'urely his for him to negledt adding his in- 
 ireatiesj the obligations lowed his fami- 
 ly, the efteem I had for his Lady, and the 
 /ery refinement I have mentioned, made 
 Tie unable to refufe. I could never make 
 :oo large amends for fuchkindnefs. My 
 ifter-in-law, who rather boafled than 
 Hfowned the title, to gratify me, neg- 
 td:zd the amufements natural to her 
 /ears, and a mind at eafe - } it feemed as 
 f I had the authority veiled in her, and 
 
 not 
 
42 THE RECE S S, Sec. 
 
 not her will, but mine, directed the fami- 
 ly. Our guefts departed by degrees, and 
 Lady Scroope's brother, the young Duke 
 of Norfolk, with fome other relations^ 
 alone remained. 
 
 tc To fatisfy my brother Anthony that no 
 levity had erafed from my mind the tender 
 ties which once united us, and which 
 neither time nor reafon could ever entirely 
 difiblve, I laid before him the motives of 
 my conduct, and conjured him to be- 
 lieve, fince I could never be his, I never 
 would be another's. Lady Scroope not 
 "being able to prevail on me to return to 
 London, departed without me, after ex- 
 torting a promife, that I would think no 
 more of a nunnery. She had left the 
 Abbey three months, when fhe gave 
 hlnh. to the prefent Lord, to the inexpref- 
 iiblejoy of her hufband. To fhew all the 
 gratitude in my power for the favours I 
 had received both from Lord Scroope and 
 his mother, 1 divided my fortune, and in- 
 filled on their accepting half, as a prefent 
 to the young heir. The generous Matilda 
 would have returned it, but her Lord, 
 
 more 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 43 
 
 more fenfible of the value of money, re- 
 ceived the gift. She reproached me for 
 it with that kind raillery which friends 
 know how to make lb agreeable ; #ie told 
 me lhe mould ceafe to love me, lince 
 the world would now call her attachment 
 interefted. 
 
 "Inthetimeofherabfence,I fpent many 
 
 hours in reviewing the ruins with, which 
 
 this place abounded -, the gloomy magni* 
 
 :ficence of thofe great remains of art,. 
 
 was more fuited to ray fadnefs of foul- 
 
 than the fofter and more varied fcenes of 
 
 'nature ; the liking I had conceived for 
 
 thefe places, doubtlefs firfl caufed the 
 
 |houfekeeper to fhew me the Reeds- 
 
 'She had lived in the family a vaft number 
 
 of years, and knew the feeret. How 
 
 ( often had I walked through, its ruined 
 
 >ailes, without fufpecting it could poffi- 
 
 jbly contain one habitable fpot ! I will 
 
 .now, my dear children, explain its 
 
 -Jatuation and ftructure : — It was once 
 
 .inhabited by nuns of the order of 
 
 St. Winifred,, but defer ted before the 
 
 aboiitioa 
 
44 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 abolition of Convents, from its ruinous 
 condition j in this fituation it remained 
 many years, fhunned by the country peo- 
 ple, and devoutly vifited by thole tra- 
 vellers whom chance orcuriofity brought 
 this way. When the Reformation, in the 
 time of Henry, robbed the monks of 
 their vaft domains, the anceftor of Lord 
 Scroope obtained this land of the king j 
 he pulled down the monaftefy to erect 
 a convenient manfion in the fame tafte, 
 and difcovered a fecret paffage from 
 thence to the convent ; it was blocked 
 up without being generally known, and 
 the ruins left as an addition to the prof- 
 pedt j nor till chance gave the commu- 
 nication a value, was it remembered. 
 The nobleman who could obtain fo vafc 
 a favor, 'tis neediefs to mention, pro- 
 fefied the reformed religion, but not able 
 ■to forget that ill which he had been 
 brought up, hishoufe became the afylum' 
 of many of the unrevenued fathers -, this 
 circumstance being noticed, he found his 
 views in the world depended on his ex- 
 pelling them, when the fecret pafTage oc- 
 curred 
 
THE RECESS, to. 45 
 
 curred to his remembrance. He had the 
 (tones removed cautioufly by the holy fa- 
 thers, and found the place well arched and 
 paved, and free from damps; it termina- 
 ted in a room they fuppofed to have 
 been the refectory, and which ft ill re- 
 mained entire. They removed, by de- 
 grees, fuch accommodations as were ne- . 
 ceffary into it, and thither the refugees 
 retired, being fupplied with food from the 
 Abbey : but finding themfelves fhut up 
 in too fmall a place, and in total want of 
 employment, they began working under 
 ground, and by degrees formed two other 
 •parTages from the Recefs, one of which 
 :ends in the Hermit's cave, where the 
 eldeft of them lived, and the other in 
 
 the midft of the ruins. Thus providing 
 :againlt difcovery, or rather fecuring their 
 :efcape if that fhould happen. In furvey- 
 ling the ruins, they found feveral places 
 tenclofed, and yet undemoiifhed -, from 
 
 among thofe, they feledted the few we 
 Ihave lived in, chufing them always fe- 
 .parated to prevent fufpicion. Thus, in 
 ; a few years, each father had his own 
 
 cell, 
 
46 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 cell, and a monaftery was hid among the 
 ruins of the convent. At length, the 
 feverity of government abating, feverai 
 of the monks ventured again into the 
 world, and of the eight who made it 
 their afylum, two only ended their days 
 here. Lord Scroope, fenfrble of the va- 
 lue offuch a retirement, carefully kept 
 the fecret when its inhabitants were gone; 
 two fervants alone knew it, and they 
 were faithful ; nor till the houfekeeper 
 told me the ftary, had I an idea of fuch 
 a place. 
 
 t( This account appeared to me almofr. 
 fabulous j the ruin was at lead half a mile 
 from the manfion, which then had a view 
 of its rifing plantations daily diminifhed, 
 till the wood became frequented, or indeed 
 paiTable only on the fide near the Hermit's 
 cave : I impatiently defired to explore 
 the whole romantick fecret. 
 
 « The houfekeeper did not delay a mo- 
 ment to gratify my curiofity; me fum- 
 moned an old fervant who knew the way,' 
 with torches, to lead me through the" 
 findings. 'The arched' roof which was, 
 3 by 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 47 
 
 by Tome contrivance in the building, 
 kept aflonifhingly free from damps, 
 echoed to our very feet. The gloomi- 
 nefs of the fcene accorded with my ideas, 
 and fuggeited a fcheme which I have fince 
 thought a providential one, to my mind. 
 The uivifions of the rooms, the bare walls, 
 and holes in the roof for air, difpleafed 
 me j but fince my affection for Lord 
 and Lady Scroope debarred me from de- 
 voting myfeif to a convent, I refolved to 
 fit this place up, and retire to it whenever 
 the owners, with their gueits, made St. 
 Vincent's Abbey too gay for me. Three 
 times I vifited it, and each time found 
 my defire greater. I difcourfed with the 
 ..old man, who, from a considerable re- 
 ward I offered him, agreed, wilh the afliflf- 
 ance of his fon, who was a builder, to ren- 
 der this a comfortable habitation. I was 
 unwilling to admit a third perfon into the 
 fecret, but foon difcovered his fon James 
 was already acquainted v\ifch it. They 
 directly began lodging their implements 
 hi the cave, which was altered to give a 
 face to the whole. Three months -made 
 
4 S T H E R E C E S S, &c. • 
 
 it what it now is; charmed with a de-' 
 vice which I little forefaw would be ufe- 
 ful to my friends, the houfekeeper and 
 my maid Alice, brought, by my direc- 
 tion, every neceffary to the dark room, 
 from whence the men fetched them. The 
 time of my Lord's return drew nigh, the 
 place was aired, and my books and clothes 
 already carried there; no fooner had I 
 refigned the care of the family into the 
 hands of my amiable filler, than I ac- 
 quainted her with my intended retreat. - 
 Her furprife was extreme at feeing how 
 commodious we had rendered fo fe- 
 queftered a fpot ; but being fearful, if. 
 fhe oppofed my refolution, of feeming to 
 conftrain me, fhe fufFered me to indulge- 
 my fancy. Hither then I retired, at- 
 tended by Alice and James, the latter of 
 whom lived in the cave to fecure us from 
 difcovery, and- furnifh us every little 
 convenience. This folitude, fo fuitable 
 to the fadnefs of my foul, was inexpref- 
 fcbly agreeable to me; it had all the ad-. 
 Vantages of a nunnery, without the tie 
 
 to 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 49 
 
 to continue in it ; a reflriction the mod 
 likely to make retirement odious. My 
 brother Anthony (with whom I conftantly 
 correfponded) charmed with the defcrip- 
 tion of a ipot fo well calculated for hearts 
 1 wounded like his and mine, afFured me, 
 inftead of {hutting himfeif up in a con- 
 vent, for which he felt he had no voca- 
 tion, as foon as he thought he could 
 bring himfeif to confider me only as a 
 lifter, he would fix his refidenee in the 
 cave. 
 
 " I had remained there two months, 
 when a meflfenger arrived to recall Lord 
 Scroope to Courts the caufe could noc 
 remain a fecret. Mary of Scotland, that 
 beautiful and unfortunate Queen, who 
 I had been imprifoned by her fubjects as 
 1 an acceflbry to the murder of her hufband, 
 had found means to efcape, and implore 
 the protection of Elizabeth. The jea- 
 loufy and hatred that princefs had long 
 entertained for one fo fuperior in thofe 
 endowments mod admired by herfelf, 
 made this flep excufable in Mary, only 
 Vol. I. E from 
 
SO THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 from the cruelty of her fituation. But 
 did not that very fituation entitle her 
 to royal treatment? In Elizabeth many 
 noble qualities are mingled with impa- 
 tience, caprice, pride, and exceffive vanity. 
 Overjoyed at getting arival into herhands, 
 doubly formidable, inftead of offering 
 Mary a princely afylum, till, on the proof 
 of her innocence, fhe mould be reftored 
 to her crown, Elizabeth inflantly made 
 the Queen of Scots fenfible of her power, 
 by dropping thofe ardent exprefficns 
 of friendfhip and efteem with which all 
 her letters had before been filled (mod 
 probably to hide the very reverfe) and in- 
 filling on her confenting to be tried by 
 laws with which fhe was unacquainted, 
 and never yet fubject to. It was to pro- 
 pofe thofe harm terms to Mary, the Queen 
 had fent for Lord Scroope; me deputed 
 him in concert with the duke of Norfolk* 
 and feveral other Lords Commifiioners, 
 to receive from Mary her juftification, 
 and examine into the authenticity of the 
 proofs. 
 
 " The. 
 
T H E R E C E S S, &c. 51 
 
 , <c The deferted, nay almoft betrayed 
 Queen of Scotland, too late found how 
 little the profeffions of the great are to be 
 relied on. She was now in a worfe con- 
 dition than if flie had ftifl remained ia 
 lier own country, and fubmitted to laws 
 by which fhe had governed. Compelled, 
 ■by the fe verity of her fate, to bend to a 
 woman but equal with herfelf j to be- 
 come a prifoner to a government flic 
 had never offended, and over which fhe 
 was probably deftined to reign ; as a cri- 
 minal, to attempt a j unification before 
 judges too probably ordered to condemn 
 her, and, even if they avoided that, too 
 politic to clear her innocence, and re- 
 ftore her freedom : For the Queen of En- 
 glandhad already placed a number of peo- 
 ple around her, who watched all her fleps 
 fo cautioufly, that they wanted only the . 
 name to become a guard. Amid all 
 thefe fears and mortifications, fubmifiion 
 was Mary's only meafure. She had learnt, 
 young as me was, to fubmit with dignity, 
 and demand a degree of generofity, by not 
 feeming to doubt of finding it. She there- 
 E 2 fore 
 
52 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 fore received the Queen's decifion with 
 compofure, delivered herfelf into Lord 
 Scroope's hands, and agreed to defer ap- 
 pearing before her fitter Elizabeth, 'till 
 fhe could appear with honour. 
 
 " This great event engrofTed the atten- 
 tion of all Europe. Various opinions 
 were formed, and Elizabeth never found 
 Mary more formidable than when in her 
 power. All blamed her errors, but they 
 pitied her youth, and imputed many of 
 them to inexperience and faults in her 
 education. Her uncommon beauty, af- 
 fability, elegance of manners, and ex- 
 preffion, were (Irongly commended by all 
 who had ken. her, and thole who had not, 
 liftened to the tale with avidity, and re- 
 ported it with increaie. Every word in her 
 praife was a dagger to the heart of Eliza- 
 beth, and the unfortunate Mary's greateft 
 crimes with her, were the graces fhe re- 
 ceived from nature. 
 
 fC Lady Scroope had fpent fome of her 
 early years in the French Court. Mary 
 was too affable and amiable not to engage 
 every one for whom Hie had an inclina- 
 tion, 
 
THE RECESS,- &c. 53 
 
 tion, and the friendship Ihe {hewed for 
 the Lady Matilda, would have made the 
 fcparation the more afflicting, but that 
 Mary, by the death of Francis the fecond> 
 found herfelf no longer attached to 
 France, and was obliged, with infinite 
 regret, to quit the kingdom fhe had been 
 Educated in, to govern one filled with do- 
 Tneftic jars, and almoft ignorant of thofe 
 foftnefTes which give charms to foci- 
 ecy; and which, in a peculiar degree, 
 adorned the court fhe had hitherto reign- 
 ed over. 
 
 ' c The troubles in which this charming 
 princefs had been plunged, from the hour 
 fhe returned to Scotland, had hardly hft 
 her leifure to diftinguim thofe formerly 
 honoured with her notice: Lady Scroope 
 had, however, always preferved an attach- 
 ment to her, lefs the fruit of gratitude 
 than fympathy. The Queen's prefent lad 
 fituation, of which flie heard amply from 
 : her Lord, touched her to the very foul. 
 She accufed Elizabeth of meannefs and 
 injustice, and without doubting the inno- 
 cen:e of Mary, fhe ardently defired to 
 E 3 lighten 
 
54 THE RECESS, k<£ 
 
 lighten her captivity, and convince her 
 that misfortune had not robbed her of 
 every friend. Thefe fentiments were too 
 fervently generous not to engage me. I 
 infenfibly took part in what interested my 
 fitter fo nearly, and learnt to deplore a 
 Princefs thus treated, whom, in a happier 
 fituation, I mould doubtlefs have cen- 
 fured 
 
 * f Lord Scroope, to fatisfy his wife, who 
 entreated him to the ftep,. reprefented to* 
 Elizabeth, the impropriety of leaving the 
 Queen of Scots unaccompanied by any 
 lady of diftin&ionj and without the at- 
 tendance, nothing could exempt the place 
 fhe had chofen for an afylum, from offer- 
 ing her, whether guilty or innocent. To 
 give force to this, he hinted the error of 
 harm meafures, which interefted the com- 
 mon people, and by engaging their pity, 
 might weaken their fidelity. 
 
 " The laft reafon, weighed infinitely 
 more with our Queen than the firlt, for her 
 heart was more full of policy than feeling. 
 She however appointed Lady Scroope to 
 
 attend 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 55 
 
 attend upon Mary, and fend orders to treat 
 her more fuitably to her rank. 
 
 " Overjoyed at carrying herpoint, with- 
 out appearing in it, Lady Scroope did 
 not delay her journey j but unwilling to 
 leave me, fhe exerted all her intereft and 
 influence to perfuade me to accompany 
 her. She reprefented that fhe did not wifh 
 to engage me in any gay fcenes, the office 
 fhe was allotted to being that molt con- 
 formable to the melancholy turn of my 
 mind. The inclination I had to fee Mary 
 joined with her, and I confented. 
 
 Bolton Cafrle, whither Mary had been 
 conducted by the Queen's command, was 
 a ftrong fortrefs on the borders cf York- 
 shire. "Without furniture, or accommoda- 
 tions for a royal gueft, it declared at once 
 to that Princefs, the melancholy captivity 
 to which fhe was deftined. The huma- 
 nity of Lord Scroope in vain attempted 
 to conceal the fate that awaited her ; fhe 
 gave herfelf up to an immoderate grief, 
 which was augmented by the news of 
 BothwelPs death, who had taken refuge 
 in Norway. 
 
 E 4 " W e 
 
56 T H E R E C E S S, &c 
 
 " We were met at Derby by the Duke of 
 Norfolk, whofe ardent defire to fee the 
 Queen of Scots had induced him to join 
 us. This nobleman was of an amiable 
 prefence, in the prime of life, full of a ge- 
 nerous ardor, a captivating vivacity. 
 Without an equal in rank in England, he 
 had formed, long fince, the defign of 
 efpoufing Mary, and Bothwell's death ha4 
 renewed hopes her marriage with him had 
 fruftrated. I was amazed at the difference 
 vifible in the manners of the Duke; nor 
 did I immediately'perceive whence his im-r. 
 patience of any difappointment, and deep 
 reveries could proceed 5 but the pleafure 
 he took in hearing his filler's, commen- 
 dations of the Queen, the foftnefs that 
 fparkled in his eyes, while he related 
 the events her letters to Bothwell . had 
 laid open, fhewed me at length that am-; 
 bition had railed a flame in his heart, he 
 miftook for love. 
 
 " We arrived at Bolton, and Mary was 
 not apprized, till Lady Scroope was in- 
 troduced to her prefence, that Elizabeth 
 had fent her a friend fo anxioufly defirous 
 
 to 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 57 
 
 to lighten her captivity. I would defcribe 
 the Queen of Scots to you, my dear chil- 
 dren, had not nature drawn a truer pic- 
 ture of her than I can give. Look in 
 the glafs, Matilda, and you will fee her 
 per feci: image." 
 
 1 could not contain my aftonilhment — 
 " Oh Heavens! exclaimed I, is it poflible 
 in lamenting the fate of that injured 
 Queen, I have wept for a mother!" 
 
 " A fhort time will explain all, faid Mrs. 
 Marlow. The Queen was in the bloom 
 of )outh, and the forrow which hung over 
 her features, gave them an irrefiftible 
 attraction. Her air of refigned dignity 
 and feminine fweetnefs, was mingled with 
 innocence and unconfcious modefty. If 
 I was inclined to pity her before, how 
 greatly was that fentiment enlivened I 
 Her faults feemed to vanifh, or to be 
 atoned by her misfortunes. Nothing 
 could be more interefting than her firft 
 interview with Lady Scroope, whofe tears 
 alone could exprefs her forrow and affec- 
 tion. 
 
 "How 
 
5$ T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 " How mud: a fcene, which diftrefTed 
 me, touch a heart prepared to love her ! 
 The Duke found that there was a paffion 
 flronger than ambition ; her crown no 
 longer engrailed his thoughts, it was 
 herfelf alone he defired ; he lamented the 
 evils it had overwhelmed her with, and" 
 from which, even her refignation of it, 
 would not relieve her. Love commu- 
 nicated all its delicacies at once to his 
 heart; and the man who had dared afpire 
 to her, while in profperity and peace, in 
 this fad moment of humiliation had not 
 prefumption to lift his eyes to her, to 
 (peak of his affection, or infult her by his 
 companion. 
 
 " Lady Scroope was too quick-fighted 
 to overlook this change in her brother; but 
 far from drawing any ill prefage from it, 
 fne flattered herfelf that he was deftined 
 to reflore the Queen, and to find in her 
 gratitude and affection, a reward propor- 
 tioned to his merit. 
 
 " Willing to relieve the tedioufnefs of the 
 hours, that Lady devifed amufements of 
 which no one partook, though all, from 
 
 ajuft 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 59 
 
 a juft knfe of the intention, appeared 
 fatisfied with them.. The filence and me- 
 lancholy of the Duke of Norfolk engaged 
 the Queen ; (he found it a delicate com- 
 pliment to her diftrefs, and regarded him 
 with an attention too flattering to be over- 
 looked. Charmed with an eiteem, which. 
 he had rather wifhed than hoped, the ar- 
 dor of his foul found words, and Mary 
 
 1 difcovered, that in attempting to attach 
 a friend, fhe had gained a lover. Confi- 
 
 ' dering her intereil only, Hie muft have 
 encouraged him; but remembering how 
 fatal her partiality might one day prove> 
 ftie conjured him to fubdue, while yet in 
 its infancy, a paffion it would be cru- 
 jelty to encourage ; to remember her 
 only as an unfortunate friend, and ia 
 that light, confeffed herfelf obliged to 
 him for his intereft and power in her 
 favor. 
 
 <c In the firft v/ildnefs of love, nothing 
 feems impoiTible; an anfwer fo mild,, only 
 animaied the hope it was meant to extin- 
 guish. The Duke formed a thoufand 
 projects i he engaged his filter in his in- 
 ter efr> 
 
60 THE RECESS, fed 
 
 tereft, and every hour of his life was filled 
 up by plans for the deliverance of the 
 amiable Queen. But as it was impofiible 
 his refidence mould be a fecret, and he 
 juftiy feared awakening the attention of 
 Elizabeth, before his fchemes were ripe 
 for execution, he engaged his lifter to 
 make a requeft, he wanted courage to 
 mention ; fince lhe might, with more pro- 
 priety, reprefent to the Queen, the policy 
 of rendering her fate his. 
 • " In this dangerous conjuncture, the 
 unfortunate Mary liftencd once more to 
 the partial advice of her heart; which 
 prompted her to yield to fo noble, fo de- 
 ferving a lover. She had caught his 
 frenzy, and realized the fictions of his brain 
 with the fame facility. rlis vaft eftates, 
 numerous vaffals, and ftill more, his ex- 
 tended and noble connections, flattered 
 her with the hope of freedom through his 
 means, and me thought it but generous 
 to let the recompence rather precede the 
 fervice than follow it. 
 
 " Fatal delufion of a prejudiced mind! 
 Oh Mary, too tender Princcfs! why were 
 
 not 
 
THE R E C E S S, -&C, 6i 
 
 not all the paft misfortunes of thy life, 
 which had their fource in love, monitors 
 to thee ? Why did they not teach thee to 
 avoid this error, which heightened every 
 affliction, and gave new pangs to a long, 
 long captivity ? 
 • " The Duke not daring to engage his 
 brother in-law in an action contrary to 
 his com million, entrufted his intention 
 only to his fifter. Too ardent and too 
 amiable an advocate to be denied, the 
 Queen of Scots was perfuaded by that 
 Lady to unite herfelf with the Duke. 
 They were married in the prefence of the 
 Lady Scroope and myfelf, Sir Arthur 
 Forefter, and the Duke's two Secretaries. 
 H Pofieffed in herfelf of all hiswifhes, the 
 prifonof the Queen became a palace to the 
 Dukej and every hour feemed to add to a 
 pafiion, which appeared at firft incapable 
 of addition. The authority Mary had given 
 him over her, the tendernefs with which 
 ihe regarded him, were powerful arguments 
 againft the approaching feparation ; but 
 Lady Scroope faw with concern, the ex- 
 travagance of a paflion (he had encou- 
 raged. 
 
£ 2 THE RECESS, k 
 
 raged. She knew too well the temper of 
 Elizabeth, not to anticipate her refent-; 
 mentj if this ftep was difcovered, and. 
 knew likewife his own fafety would be a 
 poor motive, for perfuading her brother to 
 leave Bolton ; fhe therefore reprefented 
 to him, how ill he rewarded the lovely 
 Queen of Scots, by lengthening an im- 
 prifonment it was his duty to curtail ; and 
 .afked him what expectation Mary might 
 •form from a hufband, who already pre- 
 ferred his own indulgence, to her free- 
 dom, happinefs, and glory ? 
 
 " Thefe reproaches were too true to 
 offend the Duke. He lamented, but yield- 
 ed to the cruel neceffity. Mary, as if fore- 
 warned that thefe hours were all the eaiy 
 ones remaining of her life, ufed every 
 means to detain him ; but the generofity 
 of her affection, awakening his more 
 ftrongly, he bade adieu to the charming 
 wife, he was never more to meet, and fet 
 out for London, to engage all his friends 
 to favor a marriage, no one now could 
 prevent. He flattered himfelf his interefb 
 3 was 
 
1 H E R E C E S S, &c. 63 
 
 was fo great, that the Queen would be 
 reduced to confent, whether confonant 
 to her inclination or not. Indeed, this 
 was the only rational mode of proceeding} 
 for to imagine Elizabeth weak enough 
 to unite her rival and heirefs, voluntarily, 
 to the firft of her fubjecls, would have 
 been an unpardonable blindnefs. 
 
 "Fortune, however, had deftined other- 
 wife, and only fmiled awhile, to make 
 foer frown more terrible. All the great 
 Lords of Elizabeth's Court, who had feen, 
 with regret, the imprifonment of Mary, 
 entered with pleafure into Norfolk's 
 fchemes. His letters were filled with the 
 moft flattering hopes, and the Queen, 
 who was with-child, gave him notice of 
 it. This circumftance added to his joy; 
 he promifed, that before the time of her 
 idelivery, fhe fhould have her prifon gates 
 opened by all the nobility of England. 
 iThe Earls of Shrewsbury, Derby, Bed- 
 ford, Northumberland, Weihnoreland, 
 Pembroke, Southampton, Arundel, and 
 Suffex, had warmly engaged in his caufe; 
 [ and their names alone would influence 
 
 many. 
 
64 THE R £ C E S S, &c. 
 
 many. But the friend he mod relied 
 upon, was the Earl of Leicefter, whofe 
 alcendancy over the Queen was well 
 known; he had taken on himfelf the dii-,. 
 clofure of the whole to Elizabeth, when 
 that meafure became neceffary. In the 
 mean time, Norfolk ufed every means to 
 prevent the Regent of Scotland from ac- 
 cufmg Mary to the Queen ; nor was his 
 artifice unfuccefkful. Murray, after hav- 
 ing entered England for no other purpofe,, 
 ftiddenly returned, without taking any 
 Hep inthebufinefs; a circumftance, which 
 defeated all the meafures of the Englilh 
 Court. But Elizabeth more ftrongly ap- > 
 prehending from this fome plot to releafe 
 Mary, removed her to Tutbury, and 
 added the Earl of Shrewsbury to Lord' 
 Scroope, as her keepers. 
 
 tl My filler ftill followed her, nor could 
 I defert her in fuch a fituation. We had' 
 hoped, from the information of the Duke, ; 
 to find the Earl of Shrewsbury inclined to 
 favor her ; but whether he forefaw the 
 end of this unfortunate project, or had! 
 deceived Norfolk, he kept a ftricl; watch'. 
 
 over 
 
THE RECXS S, Sc." 65 
 
 over the Queen's actions, whofe condi- 
 tion now confined her to her apartment. 
 
 " The Duke, flattered by Murray's re- 
 treat, commiiTioned fome of his friends 
 in Scotland, to found that nobleman on 
 the fubjecl of his marriage ; they unwa- 
 rily laid open more than he intended, and 
 Murray, enraged at having been his 
 dupe, fent notice of the plot to Elizabeth. 
 She was on a vifit to Lord Leicefrer, who 
 was ill -when the letter arrived ; and con^ 
 fidina to that favorite, the caule of her 
 Agitation, he fent, while the Queen was 
 coniulting with Cecil, to warn Norfolk 
 to retreat, as Elizabeth feemed bent on 
 committing him to the Tower. Thun- 
 derflxuck at this unexpected difcovery, 
 the Duke kt out, with precipitation, for 
 his feat at Kenning-Hall; but, reflecting 
 aeon the road, that his flight was allrong- 
 ;r proof againft him than the accufation 
 }f his enemies, he returned directly; he 
 ,*as however met by fome officers, fent in 
 Durfuit of him, and conducted to Burn- 
 
 I 1am. 
 
 Vol. I. F " His 
 
66 T H E RECESS, &c. 
 
 " His Secretary polled off to Tutbury 
 with an account of all thefe proceedings. 
 They funk the deeper into the heart of 
 the Queen, as fhe hoped, by this time, 
 f.o have been at liberty. She was every 
 hour in expectation of an event which 
 mull publifh her marriage, or load her 
 with infamy. In this hard trial, Lady 
 Scroope fuggefted to her the only fafe way 
 of proceeding : which was, to convey 
 her child, by means of the Duke's Se- 
 cretary, immediately after its birth, out 
 of the Cattle, and, concealing the caufe 
 of her indifpofition, wait a more favora- 
 ble moment for avowing her marriage. 
 This was the only plan to avoid injuring 
 the Duke's fafety, or her own honour. 
 To prepare every thing againft the time, 
 I took my Lave of the Queen, as re- 
 turning to St, Vincent's Abbey; and 
 retiring to a neighbouring hut hired on 
 purpofe, waited with my maid, to re- 
 ceive the infant fhe fhould bring into the 
 world, which was to be earned to the 
 R'ecefs, and placed under my care, till 
 the fate of its parents could be afcer- 
 tained. tc This 
 
THE 'RECE'S S, &c. 6? 
 
 I <c This fad moment was haflened by a 
 Ifadder event: — Bothwell, who was fup- 
 pofed to be dead, found means to convey 
 a letter to the Queen, alluring her the re- 
 port had been -fpread only toquiettheScots, 
 who otherwife never would have furTered 
 •him to reft ; and that he waited in Den- 
 mark till the divifions of her * kingdom 
 ihould enable him to raife a powerful party 
 and attempt her deliverance. Mary, on 
 the flrft fight of the well known hand, felt 
 k ~aJi the horrors of her fate ; Hie fell into 
 ftrong convuliions, which were fucceeded 
 by the pains of labor. She gaVe birth 
 to two ghls — for you, my dear children", 
 -are the fruit of this fatal marriage, who, 
 fcarce had been held to the bofom of a 
 mother, before you were divided from it, 
 I fear, for ever. 
 
 : " The faithful Secretary cenveyedyou 
 with the tenderer 1 ; caution to me. When 
 lie repeated this fad tale, oh! how my 
 foul wept for the ill-fated Queen ! ; ] 
 vowed ye fhould be mine, for ye were 
 the chikiren of misfortune, and never, 
 never have I broken that vow j diilrefs en- 
 F 2 • dei 
 
68 T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 deared me to you with a parental kind- 
 nefs, and fortune gave you to me to con- 
 sole me for all her feverity. 'Tis you 
 only have kept alive in my heart the 
 fofteft impulfes of nature. You were 
 cherubs in your infancy, and grew up to 
 chear my days, and embellifh my foli- 
 tude. Full of the great charge veiled in 
 my hands, I fought the earlieft opportu- 
 nity of quitting a dangerous place; 1 
 brought you fafe to this fpot, attended by 
 Alice, after having you baptized Matilda^ 
 'the elder (which you was by a few mir 
 nutes) after Lady Scroope, and Ellinor 
 afier the Duke's mother. 
 
 <f To return to the Queen of Scots.— - 
 She languished a long time between ill- 
 health and defpair; but the Duke found 
 means to alTure her that this misfortune 
 fhould not long feparate them. He applied 
 now to the Pope to annul Mary's former 
 marriage with Bothwell ; the Pope hop- 
 ing to find fome great advantage in the 
 projected union, feemed inclined ft? gradt 
 Uk requeft; but the conditions he im- 
 plied 
 
THE RECESS, &c. Qq 
 
 pofed were Co tyrannical, that the Duke 
 
 had no hope. 
 
 "In the mean time, Elizabeth finding 
 
 an effectual bar placed between Mary and 
 
 Norfolk by Both well's being yet alive, 
 1 and having fome hopes from the ill-health 
 
 of the Queen of Scots, of feeing an end of 
 
 her fears, after conveying her to Coventry 
 
 releafed the Duke, at the interceffion 
 I of his conftant friend Lord Leicefter. 
 ' Senfibie of the rafhnefs of his former con- 
 i duct, he refolved to avoid that fault, and 
 
 made no attempt to fee the Queen of 
 "Scots, employing himielf in hunting and 
 
 diverfions at Kenning-Hall, till the fpies 
 i of Elizabeth, perfuaded he had laid afide 
 
 his projects, gave up their employment. 
 i The Duke pall from the feat of one 
 i friend to that of another, to appearance 
 ;in iearch of am-ufement, but in reality to 
 ;:afture himfelf .of their attachment j and, 
 ; as if by accident, to vifit St. Vincent's 
 :, -Abbey, and embrace the daughters of his 
 i love. You were a twelvemonth old when 
 ■ J conducted the Duke in the night to this 
 
 Reeds. The captivity and fad fituacion 
 F 3 of 
 
70 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 of his wife srofe a thoufand times more 
 ftrongly to His mind when he beheld heir 
 chiJdren torn from her bofom as if the 
 product of difhonour, and hid in folitude 
 from every human eye; to fee, and know 
 that he could not prevent this, pierced 
 him to the very foul. He fpent the night 
 in viewing you, in recommending you to 
 Heaven, in forming a thoufand flenr 
 complaints againft his defrinv, and refolu- 
 tioftS, which bv inert.- ning his life, perpe- 
 tuated on vcu the evils he fought to reme- 
 dy. Bet when the dawn of day compelled 
 him to return to his apartment, he agr.in 
 r ok you born in his arms, and while the 
 earsof paternal afTeclion flowed gracefully 
 down his cheeks, poured on you a thouiimd 
 bleflings j he then gave you to me, and 
 while I was Hilling Ellinor, he fat in a 
 deep reverie, when fuddenly ftarting from 
 it, he came and ftood by me, and taking 
 my hand — ■ 
 
 "1 have yet hopes, my dear Mrs. Mar- 
 low, fiid he, of bringing thefe infants into 
 life, as the daughters of the lovelierr, the 
 mod amiable of fovcreigns; till when, -I 
 
 commit 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 71 
 
 commit them to you, as the moft facred 
 of all depofits. Teach them to enjoy an 
 humble rank, and they will adorn a high 
 one; keep them in total ignorance of 
 their birth till able to know its inutility. 
 But if Heaven never allows me to claim 
 them, — if the misfortunes of their pa- 
 rents end but with their lives, act up to the 
 facred character with which I alike invert 
 you and my filler. Never let them know 
 the Court of Elizabeth, but innocently 
 and happily let them die in the deferc 
 where they bloomed." 
 : "Shades of the honoured Howard and 
 the amiable Mary, I have fulfilled your 
 injunctions, exclaimed Mrs. Marlow, 
 (turning with an enthufiaftic action to the 
 pictures I have mentioned with fo much 
 refpect) your words have been ever prefent 
 to my memory, and my cares have not 
 been ufelefs." 
 
 "Alas, Madam, faidwe, dropping with 
 an emotion of awe on our knees, are thefe 
 lovely figures the portraits of our parents? 
 On! my father, my tender unhappy father 1 
 fhall we never fee you ? Were we never to 
 F 4 be 
 
j% THE RECES S,.&c. 
 
 be held in your arms but while infenfible 
 of that bleffing ? and you, my dear mo- 
 ther, who brought us forth in bitternefs 
 and pain, fhall we not fpend our lives in 
 fofcening yours, and fhed our forrows 
 upon your grave P 
 
 "You interrupt, and diftrefs me, chil- 
 dren, laid Mrs. Marlow, let me finifh my 
 melancholy, tale ; you will, alas! have 
 hours enough for complaint. 
 
 " The Duke departed the next day, 
 and in a fnort time, Elizabeth having 
 appointed the Lords Huntingdon and 
 Hereford in the room of Lord Scroope, 
 the Queen of Scots was deprived of her - ; 
 oniv comfort, by the departure of his 
 Lady. 
 
 " The Duke, finding gentle attempts 
 inefTeftual, refolved ona meafurehe deem- 
 ed infallible, and entered into a treaty 
 with a truily Spaniard named Ridolpho, 
 to engage the Duke of Alva to aflift -him 
 with ten thouiand men, to be landed at 
 Harwich, from whence they were to : 
 march to London, to intimidate Eliza- 
 beth. The Duke of Alva confented, 
 
 and 
 
THE 'RECESS,' &c. 73 
 
 and even the Pope at length afhamed of 
 neutrality, took a (hare in Mary's de- 
 liverance. Every thing was prepared ; 
 Norfolk's friends in England only waited 
 the fignal to join him, when one of thofe 
 trifling accidents which often difconcert 
 the wifeftrfchem.es, rendered this in a mo- 
 ment abortive. 
 
 " To foment the dividons in Scotland 
 fo much as to keep the Regent employed, 
 and prevent him from interfering in the 
 affair, the Duke fent many fums to be- 
 fcattered among the Qiieen's friends, in 
 that kingdom, at different times ; — bun 
 now when the crifis approached, he had: 
 prepared a large bag of gold, which with: 
 a letter he unfortunately truiled to a man.-, 
 quite ignorant of the plot; the carrier, in 
 putting it up, by feme accident cut the 
 bag, and the contents filling him with 
 aftoni foment, he communicated this lin- 
 gular difcovery to a fervant of Lord Bur- 
 leigh's, who was his brother; this man,, 
 through a hope of getting the gold be- 
 tween them, and fuppofing fome myftery 
 was hid in the letter, perfuaded him to 
 
 fhew 
 
74. THE RECESS,&c. ' 
 
 (hew it to his mailer ; the carrier coiW 
 fented, and Lord Burleigh eafily per- 
 ceiving the plot, though not its ex- 
 tent, communicated it to the Queen ; 
 in confequence of which the Duke was 
 arretted in his bed, and all his fervants 
 imprifoned. 
 
 (t This fatal ftroke overturned every re- 
 maining hope; betrayed by his fervants, 
 all the letters the Duke had written and 
 received on the fubjecT, molt of which he 
 had ordered to be burnt, were produced 
 againft him; his very benevolence was 
 conftrued into a crime, and fome money 
 he fent to the Countcfs of Northumber- 
 land, who was in exile and diltrefs with 
 her Lord, became an article in his im- 
 peachment. He was condemned, and 
 heard his fentence with a fortitude which 
 melted Lord Shrewsbury, whopronounced 
 it, into tears. 
 
 " Lady Scroope, diflracted at her bro- 
 ther's fate, fell at the ftet of the Queen, 
 and left nothing unfaid to move her; but 
 all (lie could obtain was the deferring his 
 execution, for Burleigh had fo ftrongly 
 
 prepoiTefied 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 75 
 
 prepofFefled Elizabeth with the idea that 
 the Duke fought her life, that although 
 no circumftances arofe to confirm it on 
 his trial, nothing could banifh it from her 
 mind. 
 
 " Eut what was the fitur.tion of the 
 Queen of Scotland at this completion of 
 her misfortunes! An exile from her own 
 country, a prifoner in another, a wife 
 without a right to that name, and a 
 mother, while a itranger to her children ; 
 her fate was wound up in the condemna- 
 tion of her hufoand; and me had the poig- 
 nant affliction of knowing fhehadraifedthe 
 axe againft him, which all her tears could 
 not avert. Pierced with defpair, fhe 
 conjured the Lady Scroope to affure the 
 Queen that fhe would not only voluntarily 
 confent to remain her prifoner for life, 
 but would give uo her claim to the Crown 
 of England, if her filler (as fhe was com- 
 pelled to !tile her) would free the Duke 
 of Norfolk, and reltore him to his ho- 
 nors. This propofal Elizabeth received 
 as a finefTe, which only convinced her how 
 
 deeply 
 
76 T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 deeply Mary's heart was linked with his. 
 Even the all-prevailing Leicefter's elo- 
 quence failed; felf-prefervation was an 
 unconquerable principle in the foul of 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 " The D uke was beheaded fourteen years 
 ago, when you, my dear children, who 
 were bought with his life, were not 
 above two years and a half old. He 
 died as he had lived, with dignity and 
 honour. 
 
 "Never was nobleman more lamented: 
 he had endeared himfeif to the body of 
 the people by his courage, generofity, and 
 affability ; and to his equals, by an un- 
 confcioufnefs of fuperiority, which pre- 
 vented envy, and an uniformity of con- 
 duel, which gained admiration. He was 
 the firft victim to the Queen's fears, nor 
 could me have chofen one whofe merits 
 "Were ftronger proofs of the value fhe fet 
 on herfelf. 
 
 "LadyScroopedetefting "toe late the ar- 
 tifices of the Court, and funk in affliction 
 for the lofs of a brother ihe adored, retired 
 
 hither 
 
THE RECESS, & c ; 7? 
 
 hither with her Lord, who had thrown up 
 his employments. Her body partook of 
 ! the debility of her mind, and foon gave 
 fymptoms of a decay, which reduced her 
 to the grave. 
 
 " Her temper too was quite changed. 
 This Recefs, which fo lately appeared a 
 horrible dungeon, now feemed to her, as 
 to me, a calm retirement from the odious 
 forms and cares of life. She fpent many- 
 days (and would every one, had it not 
 afRicled her Lord) in weeping over you ; 
 in tracing in Matilda the mildly-beautiful 
 features of her friend, and in Ellinor, 
 the captivating graces of her brother. 
 'Tis to her you owe -thefe valuable pic- 
 tures, 
 
 " Eftranged from all fociety, the Queen 
 of Scots gave herielf up to the blacken; 
 defpairj fhe had, alas ! no hope to foften 
 her captivity, no bofcm to receive her tears; 
 with Norfolk died all profpec~t of releafe, 
 and at the fame time ail defire of it ; 
 what was the univerfe to her without he 
 embellished k? Would it not have aug- 
 mented her affliction to have enjoyed 
 4 afo- 
 
78 THE RECESS, kc. 
 
 a fovereignty fhe durft never hope to fnare 
 w it'i him .? 
 
 !" Elizabeth, whofe fears were always 
 awake from this moment, cut her daily off 
 from fome comfort or convenience ; fre- 
 quently changed her keepers and prifori; 
 and by her ft: verity, taught the captive 
 Queen that hatred may be ftronger even 
 than love. 
 
 11 Lady Scroope furvived her brother 1 
 but a twelvemonth, and left no inheritor 
 of her virtues. She recommended 
 you both in the mod fervent man- 
 ner to her Lord, who folemnly fwore to 
 make a provifion for you fuitable to his 
 fortune, though not your birth. 
 
 " Some years paft away, when Lord 
 .Scroope, whofe grief was at an end, find- 
 ing himfelf tired of the inactivity of a 
 country life, accepted fome overtures the 
 Queen made to recall him. He left to me 
 the charge of St. Vincent's Abbey ; which 
 iie has not inhabited fince. 
 
 fC Hurried on by other events, I have hi- 
 therto neglected to mention the return of 
 3 •• -rev 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 79 
 
 vny brother Anthony, in three years after I 
 brought you here. He fixed his refidence 
 in the hermit's cell, devoting his time 
 to the fludy of phyfic, and the care of ex- 
 horting the poor, except at thofe intervals 
 you have fcen him in -, for his life and 
 mine have been uniform. 
 
 " I have only two circumftances imre 
 to mention ; one of which is more afflicting 
 tome, than I once believed, aught reflect- 
 ing money, could ever be. Lord Scroope, 
 after having been abroad fame years. in a 
 public character, has fuddenly become the 
 object of the crafty Burleigh's hatred, or 
 fufpicion, and is now confined; while his 
 eftates and wealth are feized by the Queen, 
 who knows lb well the value of money, 
 that it is too probable my Lord will ne- 
 ver be able to fulfil the promife made to 
 his wife in your favor. 
 
 The other is, that during feveral pad 
 
 years, I have net been able to hold any 
 
 intelligence with the Queen of Scotland, 
 
 ■who fent me fome letters during the fiift 
 
 i years of her imprifonmenr, which, with 
 
 : thofe fhe wrote to the Duke, I have pre- 
 
 ferved. 
 
$0 THE RECES S,~&c. 
 
 ferved, with various other teflimonials of 
 your birth. Time.may enable her yet t®. 
 give you the fplendor to which you were 
 born i for Elizabeth is now ftricken in 
 years, and Mary more worn by forrow than 
 age. Wait then, my dear children, with 
 patience, when I am in my grave, the 
 defoliation of providence, and never claim 
 your parent till fhe pleafes to acknow- 
 ledge you. No virtue is more accepta- 
 ble to God than patience. To bellow 
 happinefs, is only in his power ; to de- 
 ferve it, ever in our own. Oh ! if my 
 prayers are heard ! if my wifhes afcend 
 to the throne of the Moll High, he will 
 •lead you through this world in peace j 
 he will unite you again to my bolbm, in 
 abetter!" 
 
 Here our generous prote&refs, our 
 more than mother, ended, clafping us to 
 her heart with an ardor that evinced the 
 fincerity of her words. 
 
 But what new ideas; what amazing 
 feelings did her narration give birth to! 
 The irnpulfes of nature taught us to trea- 
 sure every word ihe uttered -, for what in 
 
 the 
 
the 
 
 THE RECESS, k 8r 
 
 hiftory of our parents could be indif- 
 ferent ? Never did our folitude appear fo 
 eligible — <c the Court of Elizabeth !" — 
 Oh my lamented father, could the fole in- 
 iflictor of all thy evils, ever, ever attach 
 tthy children ! Could me who oppreffed her 
 equal, and a Queen., innocent at- lead in 
 all that reflected her, only becaufe fhe 
 was in her power, be capable of alluring 
 two hearts, untainted by that courtly 
 politenefs, which fanctifles the errors of a 
 Sovereign, and terms her very vices noble 
 'WeaknerTes? 
 
 But then, to learn I had a mother yet 
 ia!ive ; to believe I might one day be re- 
 ceived to her arms, only endeared by 
 misfortune.} full of this melting, this 
 heart-expanding idea, I would have 
 fought her priion ; I would have been 
 ih- companion of it.: happy, if all my 
 cares could make her forget, for one 
 moment, the rigour of her fortune; or 
 cr.ii to her remembrance, amidit all- her 
 complaints, againft the injuftice of the 
 world, that it Hill contained two beings 
 ■ Vol. I. G who 
 
tii T'H E RE OF S S, &c. 
 
 who were willing to return for her the 
 life (he gave. 
 
 My duty to Mrs. Marlow alone di- 
 vided my heart : fhould I defert her, who 
 had neglected every thing for us ? What ! 
 are the ties of nature to cancel, in one 
 moment, thofe of inclination, gratitude, 
 and efteem ? Oh, no ! I owed, it is true, 
 my being to another; but fh.e to whom I 
 owed the beft part of that being, the for- 
 mation of my mind, the inftilling thofe 
 fentiments which alone make us valuable 
 to ourfelves and fociety, had a claim be- 
 yond all others, which nothing but death 
 could difiblve. That awful moment was 
 drawing nigrr; every one that parTed, dole 
 fomething from the mortal part of Mrs. 
 I.Iarlow. Oh thou amiable faint! thou 
 woman after God's own heart ! can I re- 
 member the time when thou wert called 
 from us, without floods of unavailing 
 tears? Never — never — felfifh as they are, 
 they will flow, even though fo often ex- 
 hauited. 
 
 She- 
 
THE RECES S, . •&©. 83 
 
 jj She delivered us a caflcet, which con- 
 tained the papers .fhe mentioned, and di- 
 vers atteftations, figned by herfelf, and 
 the late Lady Scroope, and filled with ail 
 '.the ornaments of her youth. Then, after 
 I ••recommending us tenderly to Father An- 
 thony, fhe joined in prayer with him, 
 and all her little family j and in tfye midil, 
 ; expired. 
 
 Oh, Madam, how ftrange, how terrible 
 :to me, was that moment ! I faw Death 
 ifirfl: fcize on one dearer than mylelf: the 
 I -nun iion in which we lived, now became 
 b folitude indeed — a iilence — how fo- 
 ilemn ! prevailed. In the firft flow of a 
 -rational grief, how vail a vacuum is lefc 
 in the heart ! to hear no longer zhc voice 
 1 which led us through life : to fee the eyes, 
 -•whence ours drew fortitude, clofe, never 
 imore to open: the whole frame affume 
 ; that awful pallidnefs, every moment in- 
 creafes, and which brings ib melancholy 
 a memento to the bread ! Thefe touch- 
 ing ideas cannot always arife, tor ibme 
 'offes deftroy the power of reflection and 
 complaint. 
 
 G 2 To 
 
$4 THE RECESS, & 
 
 c. 
 
 To attempt interring the duft of Mrs. 
 Marlow in' the chapel, muft have a-^ 
 wakened the Tufpicions of the Queen's 
 officers. The fecret of our retirement 
 was in the breaft of only three do- 
 mefticks, and it was highly necefTary to 
 keep it concealed. On this account, a 
 grave was made for her in Father An- 
 thony's cell, whither v/e conveyed her, 
 wrapt in white, and crowned with the 
 fading produce of this world, in imi- 
 tation of that ever-blooming wreath 
 promifed hereafter to all, who perfevere 
 in virtue. 
 
 Grief makes "the mo ft violent impref- 
 fion in youth ; but, happily, it is the moil 
 tranfient : a little time abated the acute- 
 nefs of ours ; neverthelefs, our folitude 
 being deprived of its ornament, appeared 
 uniform, melancholy, and difgufting. We 
 gradually loft our aflkluity in our works,- 
 when we no longer promifed ourfelves the 
 great reward of Mrs. Marlow's praife. Fa- 
 ther Anthony, who war, never a favourite 
 with us, became every day more unpleafant. 
 
 His 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 85 
 
 His fitter had always preferved a {way 
 over him, which foftened the feverity 
 6f his manners: that being now at an 
 end, and his temper (till more hurt by 
 his affliction for her lofs, he appeared a 
 igloomy tyrant j and the additional care- 
 
 ( fulrtefs with which he obferved us, laid 
 an odious reftraint on all our expreffions, 
 
 ! and made our meals wear an air of fullen- 
 
 frtefs each party was unconfcious of cauf- 
 
 'iAs*.' 
 
 • ir Obliged to hide in our hearts all the 
 little follies and wifhes we had been ufea 
 
 tto reveal to Mrs. Marlow without fearl 
 we converted with the Father only upon 
 
 ,'ifcioral and indifferent topicks; thus every 
 
 ;day was the lame, and each of courfe. 
 
 iniore tedious, when Ellinor fuggefted a 
 
 licheme which promifed fome amufement. 
 This was to explore the paffage leading 
 
 tto the ruins, where we . might at leaft 
 
 ! breathe the frefh air, and, for one hour, 
 h?.\-£ the pleafure of a little novelty. I 
 
 . readily came into the propofal, having had 
 a; curiofity to emerge from the moment I 
 
 heard that paffage firft mentioned. It 
 G 3 was 
 
U THE RECKS Sji.m. 
 
 was- the full height of fummer, and we : 
 pitched upon a long afternoon, when we - 
 fcad no fear of being fought for. 
 
 The paffage was narrower, cloferi and 
 damper than the others, but very fnort. 
 We took a torch that we might find the 
 way of opening it. When we drew near 
 the mouth, I obferved fome little holes,, 
 ma-.le doubtlefs to give the concealed? 
 perfon an advantage.! made Ellinorkeep- 
 back while I examined the place, but fa\y- 
 nothing, however, to awaken any appre- 
 hension ; a long avenue of broken arches,, 
 intermingled with brambles and wild' 
 wall- flowers, in the paths of which the 
 grafs grew very high, was all I could dif- 
 cern — nothing could more fully prove 
 the unfrequentednefs of the fpot. We- 
 therefore examined the fattening immedi- 
 ately, and found it a fmall fquare doer 
 with two hinges on the top, and fattened 
 acrofs the bottom by a large bar of iron j 
 laid on ftrong hooks. I was unable t.o 
 open it alone ; Ellinor therefore extin- 
 guished the light, to aflltt me; but with- 
 all our curiofuy and courage, the fight of 
 
 the 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 87 
 
 the pile of ruins threw lis into an uniyerfal 
 trepidation. On turning round, to ob- 
 serve how the entrance was hid, we 
 perceived a high raifed tomb, at each 
 corner of which flood a gigantic ftatue 
 of a man in armour, as if to guard it, 
 two of whom were now headlefs. Some 
 famous knight, as appeared by his nu- 
 merous enfigns, lay on the tomb. The 
 .meagre fkeleton had {truck an arrow 
 'through his fliield into his heart; his 
 eyes were turned to the crofs which St. 
 'Winifred held before him. Nothing could 
 I be better contrived than this entrance, 
 : for however rude the fculpture, the or- 
 1 namental parts took the eye from the 
 body of the tomb. The little door, 
 which dropt after us, was one ftone, 
 lined with wood, and fo neatly fitted, 
 that even when unfaftened, it was not to 
 'be difcerned. For a long way beyond, 
 the profpect was wild and awful to excefs; 
 fometimes vaft heaps of ftones had fallen 
 from the building, among which, trees 
 and buflids had iprung up, and half in- 
 ' volved tne dropping pillars. Tall frag- 
 G 4 ments 
 
SS THE RECESS, Sec. 
 
 ments of it fometimes remained, which 
 feemed to fway about with every blaft, and' 
 from whofe mouldering top hung clufters 
 and fpires of ivy. In other parts, ruined 
 cloiflers yet lent a refuge from the wea- 
 ther, and fullenly fhut out the day ■> while 
 long echoes wandered through the whole 
 at the touch of the Iightefl foot: the in- 
 tricacies of the wood beyond, added to the 
 magnificence of art the variety of nature. 
 We quitted, with regret, our new empire, 
 when the fun left his laft rays on the tops 
 of the trees. 
 
 We refolved to conceal our ramble, 
 left Father Anthony fhould forbid us to 
 repeat it. Thofe, Madam, who would 
 maintain a lading fway over young peo- 
 ple, mull, by foftening the diflance of 
 age, Heal into their confidence. Love 
 and jefpect are united, but if fear once 
 clofes the avenues to the heart, no other 
 fentiment ever overcomes it; obedience is 
 then never led by inclination, and we re- 
 joice to efcape from haughtinefs or au- 
 tarky, however venerable the form they 
 .afllime. 
 
 From 
 
THE RECESS, &c. S 9 
 
 i From what trifles fpring the pureft 
 ! pleafures of life ! a profpect, a flower, 
 a fong, can dilate the heart, while the 
 paflions are yet hid in it, nor have poi- 
 foned its fimplicity, and curtailed' its en- 
 joyments. 
 
 Concealed pleafures are allowed to be 
 the greater!: ; nor can any remark be more 
 juft; to deceive the watchful, reflects 
 a compliment on our own fagacity, which, 
 renders us infenfible to the error. 
 
 Almort every day did we vifit this dar- 
 ling fpot, always, like young birds, ven- 
 turing oneftep further; and fo often had 
 we ventured without feeing a human be- 
 ing, that, at laft, we ceafed to fear. On 
 one fide the wood fhelved down for a con- 
 fiderable way, beyond which the' road was 
 cut, and mingled with hamlets that gave 
 a promile of fociety, which the rufticity of 
 their inhabitants would not allow them to 
 fulfil. 
 
 But you reproach me with lofing time 
 m uninterefting defcriptions. — Ah, Ma- 
 dam ! this wood was not always a de- 
 fart. Chance, or, rather I fhouki fay, 
 
 Provi- 
 
9 o T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 Providence, led into its folitary wind- 
 ings, the man, of all Elizabeth's Court, 
 the molt diftinguifhed and admired ; the 
 man to whom nature had been prodigal 
 of every advantage, which art and ap- 
 plication had polifhed to the higheft per- 
 fection. 
 
 One day, in calling my filler, I difco^ 
 vered in the hollow of the wood and 
 building, a very fine echo; delighted with 
 this, I began finging; the notes dying 
 diftinctlyaway, formed a melancholy fym- 
 phony, when I was interrupted by Ellinor, 
 who quitting fome birds that flew tamely 
 to be fed by her hand, ran towards the 
 Recefs with great fpeed, waving to me to 
 follow her. We had fo often alarmed 
 each other without any caufe, that I 
 hardly moved, when a noife I heard 
 among the trees (which grew extremely 
 thick on that fpot) alarmed me, A voice, 
 that funk at once from my ear to my 
 heart, conjured me in the mod earneft 
 manner to (top. Notwithstanding the 
 neceflity I found for flying, my eyes 
 longed to claim acquaintance with the 
 
 features 
 
T HE R E C E S ■ S, &c. 91 
 
 1 
 
 i features to which that voice belonged, 
 
 and my head, by an involuntary motion,, 
 iwas turned over my fhoulder. The gen- 
 tleman had now made a way through the 
 Ifhrubs- which impeded his pafiage, and I 
 (found it impoffible to retreat but by dif- 
 ( covering a fecret it was highly my intereft 
 (to conceal. Perhaps I was not forry to 
 h ive an ex-cufe to my own heart for a rafh- 
 nefs it was too fenfible of. The irrefolu- 
 ition of my attitude, which was that of a 
 : perfon ready every moment to run, made 
 Ihim approach with, profound fubmif- 
 Ifion and refpect j but finding me attempt 
 ito fly, though almofl without knowing it, 
 i he inftantly itopt. 
 
 " By whatever chance,- faid he, nature 
 I has hid in this fequeltered fpot her faireft 
 productions, permit me, ladies, .to derive 
 an advantage from it. Believe me, you 
 fee a man who needs too much your 
 compaflion and affi (lance to venture to 
 infult you. were fuch a thought capable 
 of intruding into a heart never yet inhu- 
 man. Let me conjure you, then, to judge 
 of my intentions by your own,, and allow 
 
 me,, 
 
92 THE RECESS, k 
 
 me, if you know of an r.fylum (and are 
 nor, like me, driven here by fome rrc- 
 fent diftrefs) to fnelter myfelf from afTaf-' 
 fins too well prepared to take my life, for 
 courage to preferve it." 
 
 The perfon of him who pronounced' 
 thefe words, made their effect indelible;' 
 He appeared fomething pad the blooni 
 of life, but his beauty was rather fixed^ 
 than faded ; of a noble height and per-' 
 feet fymmetry, he would have had an 
 air too majeftic, but that the fweetnefs'tiF 
 his eyes and voice tempered the dignity- 
 of his mien. His complexion was of a ; 
 clear and polifhed brown ; his eyes large, 
 dark, and brilliant; his hair gracefully' 
 marked the turn of all his features, and 
 his drefs was of a dove-coloured velvety 
 mingled with white fattin and filverj 1 
 a crimibn fafh inwoven with gold, hung 
 from his fhoulder with a picture 5 and 
 the order of the garter, as well as a fo- 
 reign one, with which he was inverted, 
 (hewed his rank not left diftinguifhed 
 than his perfon. 
 
 Afto- 
 
T H E R E C E S S, &c. 93 
 
 Ailonimment — anxiety — a thoufand ra- 
 pid ideas melting into each other, and, 
 defying language, confufed and filenced 
 me; when Ellinor, more miftrefs of her 
 own judgment, took upon her to anfwer 
 by directing him to Father Anthony's cell, 
 alluring him at the fame moment, that 
 this was all we could do to ferve him. — 
 <c Ah Ellen ! cried I, paffionately feizing 
 her hand, he then muft return and be mur- 
 dered:" Struck with the vehemence of 
 my own v/ords, my eyes funk to the 
 ground, and changeable bluihes covered 
 my features, which redoubled when the 
 ftranger took my hand, with a grace all 
 his own, and bowing on it. 
 
 " To your generous intension, Madam, 
 I fhall at leafi: be a debtor — this is net a 
 time or place for deliberation — By, I be- 
 feech you, while you are yet able; the- 
 villains who purfue me, may not refpect: 
 your youth, your beauty, or your inno- 
 cence', and nothing could lb greatly add 
 to my misfortune as the involving you in 
 it. if heaven lengthens my days, I may, 
 
 perhaps, 
 
m THE RE'CES S, &c. 
 
 perhaps, be able to convince you that the 
 man you wifhedtofaveis notunworthyyour 
 concern; if, on the contrary, this proves 
 my laft, I have only to requeft you will 
 deliver this (untying and giving me the 
 piclure) to the Queen, who will not fail 
 todiftinguifhthe bearer. 
 
 How, how did every word penetrate 
 m" heart — Ah ! how rapid is the progrefs 
 of paffion, and how, in one moment, does 
 it quicken, nay, double every fenfe and 
 ■fenfibility ! I could, with the fame- eafe, 
 have expofed my own bofomto the ailaf- 
 fins as his. iFear.furmounted every .pru- 
 dential con fi deration, and I was only go- 
 ing to ufe the caution of enquiring who 
 he was, when the found of voices, not 
 .far didant,, put that out of my head. Re- 
 taining, in mine, the hand which had hi- 
 .therto held it, I led him through the moil: 
 iblitary arches to the foot of the tomb,; 
 but our aftonifhment at fight of him, bore 
 no comparifon with his, when he found 
 this to be our habitation. The time no*; 
 admitting any. explanation, he affifted us &&j 
 enter, and followed himfelf; when leavin * 
 
 4 Ellin;;- 
 
T H E R E C E S S, &c. 95 
 
 , Fllinor to watch the approach of thofe 
 
 we had heard, I conducted him into the 
 
 large room of the Recefs. With an im-» 
 
 patient gratitude, he fell at my feet to 
 
 ; thank me for my anxiety, but inftantly 
 
 I ftarring back, he threw me into Inch a tre- 
 
 I pidation, that I funk into a feat without 
 
 j power to look behind me, imagining ei- 
 
 1 ther that the murderers, or at lead, Fa- 
 
 ; ther Anthony, mud be at hand -, when 
 
 I looking around him and at me by turns, 
 
 J he exclaimed, 
 
 " Merciful heaven! by what ftrange 
 
 ordination of thine do I find, in this de- 
 
 i fart, two dead portraits of my unhappy 
 
 friend, and the Queen of Scots, and two 
 
 ! breathing ones more lovely than even 
 
 I themfelves?" 
 
 Imagine my diftrefs at this fpeech. I 
 I faw in one moment the whole of a fe- 
 : cret, preferved with fuch caution for lt> 
 many years, committed to a ftranger by 
 an indifcretion, which (till I could not: 
 condemn in myfelf. Fluctuating with all 
 the trrefolution of youth, I now knew 
 not whether I ought to deny the truth of 
 
 what 
 
9 6 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 what he had averred, or repofe, in turn, 
 a confidence in Jiis honour ; but the time I 
 had fpent in deliberating convinced him; 
 for my confufion was an affirmative no- 
 thing- could overcome. 
 
 " You are fUent, Madam, cried he, 
 but your eloquent eyes imply a doubt it 
 is my duty to clear. Oh! if I was capa- 
 ble of wronging your confidence, or be- 
 traying any lecret you wifh concealed,, 
 beaven would have abandoned me to the 
 fate from which its faireft daughters faved 
 me. Look -but at that picture, and you. 
 will find an indubitable evidence of ray 
 jftncerity." 
 
 It was the picture of Elizabeth, given 
 ky herfelf to Robert Dudley, as the in- 
 icription informed me. 
 
 " Ah! have I then, returned I, been 
 the happy means of difcharging the debt 
 long owing to Lord Leicefter?" 
 
 " How, how have I been fo fortunate, 
 returned he, as to diftinguifh myfelf to 
 ycu? — If I durft believe, and yet it muft 
 be fo — for how fhould a lefs lovely mother 
 ^ive being to fuch children, and how* 
 3 Other wife 
 
T H E R E C E S S, &c. 97 
 
 .©thenvife, mould fuch matchlcfs beauty 
 
 and elegance be hid in a defart! Tell me, 
 
 I conjure you, Madam, whether my paft 
 
 friendship with the Duke of Norfolk, 
 
 1 does not intide me to yours ?" 
 
 {C It does, indeed, my Lord, cried I, 
 (burfting into tears at the name of my fa- 
 ther) to my eternal gratitude. Your frank 
 avowal fets me above all diffimulation; I 
 •dare own to you, that you have guefled 
 my birth moft truly, 
 
 " But, why then were you buried in 
 this folitude? Why not acknowledged in 
 France?"— 
 
 " Ah, my Lord ! might I not, with 
 
 j much more reafon demand, how the favo- 
 
 • rite of Elizabeth came unattended and 
 
 alone to feek, in thefe woods, an afylum 
 
 [from alTafiins ?" 
 
 ' c I will reply to you with candor, Ma- 
 
 ; dam, add-ed he, and thus befpeak your 
 
 ccnndence. The favor of a fovereign may 
 
 ( eafily make us great, but many circum- 
 
 ftancesinuftconcur to make ushappyj and 
 
 when you hear fome events of my life, 
 
 I dare promife myfelf your co.mpafi'ion." 
 
 Vol. L H Ellinor, 
 
98 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 Ellinor, having executed her commif- 
 fion, rejoined us at this moment. I will 
 frankly confefs I wifhed her abfence, and 
 had impofed a tafk on her I could never 
 have executed. The prefence of Lord 
 Leicefter had awakened in my mind a 
 thoufand hopes and wifhes unknown be- 
 fore. Not recollecting the improbability 
 of his patting fo many years without form- 
 ing tender attachments, almoft uncon- 
 fciouQy I afpired to his heart ; and my ap- 
 prehenfion of Ellinor's fuperior charms, 
 had made me meanly cheat her of an op- 
 portunity of making a firft impreflion : 
 by fubmitting to my injustice fhe rendered 
 me fenfible of it in the moft generous 
 manner, and the care 1 then took to dis- 
 play her merit, induced my Lord to ima!- 
 gine I regarded him v/ith indifference. 
 Thus I reaped a double advantage from 
 my ie:urn to rectitude. 
 
 My filler informed us, that fhe had fcen 
 four men examining every part of the ruins : 1 
 allured Lord Leicefter mult be hid fi 
 among them, as one had picked up his 
 hat (which he doubtlefs dropt when he I 
 
 addreffed 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 99 
 
 ; add retted me) and fwearing never to quit 
 the wood till they had found him, they 
 feparated to purfue the fearch. 
 
 I turned pale at this terrible intelli- 
 gence, which made his departure impofii- 
 jble; but as we every moment expected 
 .'Father Anthony, who might have a fhare 
 \in the alarm the affaffins would occafion, 
 .we agreed to hide my Lord in Mrs. Mar- 
 . low's chamber, which had been hitherto 
 .jdefert-ed, and a place where none but our- 
 iclves would feek him. 
 
 It was now evening, and as the age and 
 • infirmities of our maid rendered her ra- 
 j ther an incumbrance than relief, we fet 
 -before Lord Leicefter a repaft, perhaps 
 .more adapted to his health than his ap- 
 ..petite, but all our retreat at that time 
 /afforded; and, withdrawing, left him 
 r thu\ we might be ready if our guardian 
 foould vifit us. 
 
 As I would not have you imagine, how- 
 ever we were indebted to nature, that 
 : the .furprife Lord Leicetter cxpreffed, 
 ! fprung only from cur beauty, Imuftobferve 
 3 to you, we dreft tothetafte of Mrs. Mar- 
 ti 2 low. 
 
ioo THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 low, rather than that of any country; and 
 thofe habits which covered happy hearts, 
 preferve a long fuperiority in the fancy. 
 Clofe jackets and coats, of pale grey, 
 were trimmed round the fkirts and fleeves 
 with black bugle fringe ; the collars were 
 thrown back from the throat and cheft 
 with point lace, and tied at the bolbrn 
 with black taffels; our hair, which was 
 very thick, covered our necks and fore- 
 heads, falling in rings from under cam- 
 brick coifs j fmall beaver hats, with high 
 crowns, and waving black feathers, com- 
 pleted our appearance, at once too ruftic 
 and too elegant not to ftrike every perfori. 
 Simplicity is the perfection of drefs, and 
 Ellinor prcfents herfelf in that I have de- 
 fcribed, more beautiful than when adorned 
 with all the gaudy trappings pride and 
 luxury has invented. She had an arch, 
 a firi fling eye, which, while it indicated 
 obfervation, teemed with good na.ure; a 
 complexion perfectly fair, and delicately 
 heightened by a bloom which came from 
 
 the heart,*' as its changeablenefs implied; 
 
 a ^gracefu l ftature, and a manner which 
 2 won 
 
THE RECESS, kc. 101 
 
 . 
 
 !'Won almoft every one to love her half as 
 
 Veil as I did. But I need not expa- 
 tiate on my Ellen's character} though 
 dormant at prefent, it will foon demand 
 .your companion in the hardefr trials of 
 Jife. 
 
 r Love, Madam, is the parent of art. 
 : ,When we left Lord Leicefter, without 
 declaring my own fentiments concerning 
 .him, I fought to penetrate into my lifter's, 
 .for that conflant error of a firft. paflion had 
 infecled me, and I fancied that the man 
 ^who had fubdued my heart, might .thofe 
 ^f all my fex ; every glance increafes a fear 
 i fo exquifite ; I thought conftantly I read 
 .in her eyes ideas afflictingly fimilar to my 
 f own : yet the lively fenfe fhe expreffed at 
 -ourindifcretion, whichfheeafily conceived 
 would put us in the power of Elizabeth's 
 -favorite, made me very doubtful ; for al- 
 though the fame apprehenfion occurred to 
 .me, the confidence I already had in his 
 j honour, and the Itrong anxiety I felt 
 for his life, made it a faint a>id diflant 
 alarm. 
 
 H i This 
 
102 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 This night I firft found my reft difturb- 
 ed by the reflexions of my mind. I hop- 
 ed one moment every thing. I flattter- 
 ed myfelf that the frmplicity of my edu- 
 cation, and the purity of my heart, would, 
 by a contrail with thofe of the court, atone 
 for the want of that polifh a court alone 
 can give j the obfcurity of my birth, I 
 found too fenfibly a misfortune, and with- 
 drawing my compaffion for the firft time 
 from my parents, beftowed it on myfelf. 
 Yet again would I fay, can he defpife the 
 daughter of his friend ? Will he deftine 
 me to fuffer for an indifcretion in which 
 1 had no fhare ! Oh 1 let me judge his 
 heart by my own, which already feels that 
 the fovereignty of the univerfe would be 
 too little for happinefs, if he was not to 
 partake it. 
 
 The calm reft of my filler fet my heart 
 at eafe refpecling her; I told every mo- 
 ment as it pafled, anxioufly expecting that 
 in which Lord Leicester was to begin his 
 narration. 1 had exhaufted the few misfor- 
 tunes my imagination fuggefted, with- 
 out 
 
THE RECESS, k 103 
 
 . 
 
 out being able to find any which could, 
 in fo well-governed a country, reduce a 
 man of his diftihdtion to flight; but how, 
 untainted with the vices of the world, 
 could I guefs at the real one ? 
 
 Without acquainting Lord Leicefter, 
 who had the conduct of our education, we 
 made him lenfible that we had reafons for 
 concealing him from every perfon : he had 
 too much politenefs to prefs for an expla- 
 nation, and we were compelled to leave 
 him alone till the departure of Father An- 
 thony fhould give us an opportunity to 
 liften to his hi (lory. 
 
 The Father, always flow and delibe- 
 rate, feemed this day to have gained an 
 addition to thofe qualities; inftead of re- 
 tiring after dinner, as ufual, he began a 
 long difcourfe (from a momentary impa- 
 tience I had difcovered through fome 
 trifling occafion) on the fubduing our 
 paflions, every word of which augmented 
 mine, and the lefs we feemed lenfible of his 
 argument, the more he became inclined to 
 prolixity, till my impatience having arifen 
 II 4 to 
 
104 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 to the greateft height, allayed of itfelf- 
 and I learnt, nothing but acquiefcing in 
 ail he advanced, could put a period to the 
 tedious converfation. This fine fife fuc- 
 ceeded : he departed, and without {laying 
 a moment longer than was neceffary to af- 
 certain that circumftance, we releafed the 
 Earl, and conducted him to our great 
 room, as we called it. 
 
 Lord Leicefter did not delay to gra- 
 tify our curiofity, but began his ftory thus : 
 (for to prevent the coldnefs a relater al- 
 ways gives to events, and as almofl the 
 very words are familiar to my memory, 
 whenever a narration occurs, J,, in juftice 
 to the perfon concerned, fhall give him 
 the power of fpeaking for himfelf.) 
 
 tc Sprung from a family too diftin- 
 guiihed to be unknown to you, ladies, 
 I might pals over the early part of my 
 nit: in filence, did not one circumflance 
 in it account for the honours and favours 
 mv royal mjftreis has delight cd to fhower 
 up:)ri me. The 1 aft of five ions, 1 was too 
 young to be fentible of the lofs when* my 
 
 unhappy 
 
THE RECESS, k 105 
 
 unhappy family were facrifked to their own 
 ambition and epiicopal tyranny. Without 
 ■any fortune, and obnoxious to thofe who 
 had trembled at the very name of North- 
 umberland, no happier fate had awaited 
 me from the perfections of Mary's reign 
 (a time which will fill the lateft with hor- 
 ror) had not the Earl of Arundel gene- 
 roufly fcreened me from her rage. He had 
 me conducted from a feat of my father'. 1 -, 
 bellowed on him by the Queen, to Hu- 
 bert Hall, a noble one of his own, where 
 I was educated with his children, without 
 being known to the world. The kincl- 
 nefs of this nobleman well defervcs- com- 
 memoration, fince to the compaflion 
 awakened by my youth and helpleb 
 ftate, nothing was added but a grateful 
 remembrance of a fmall favour the Lord 
 Guilford had (hewn him, at a time when 
 his religion v/as more feared, though lefs 
 punifhed, than ours then was. Senfible 
 of ail his gcnercHty, I neglected nothing: 
 i to prove my gratitude; and habit living 
 me the lame advantage in his affection. 
 
 with. 
 
106 T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 with his own children, he Teemed to take 
 pleafure in numbering me among them, 
 and propoied to unite me to one of his 
 daughters, who had from her infancy en- 
 tertained a partiality for me. Fate was 
 againft him; for of the four lovely chil- 
 dren he had when I was added to the, 
 number, I faw him without one, before 
 I was fifteen. Thefe lofTes, far from 
 fouring his temper, only foftened it ; he 
 bent himfelf more intently on eftablifhing 
 me in all his fortunes, and was not 
 without hopes of obtaining the reverfion 
 of his title for me. Mifs Linerick, the 
 daughter of his fitter, and the heirefs of 
 a large fortune, btrfides what flie might 
 hope from him, was the lady he made 
 choice of for my bride, and the agree- 
 ment was formed with her father and 
 guardians, without my knowledge ; nor 
 did I venture to refufe my confent, when 
 it was demanded ; although I had never 
 feen the lady, and found my heart ut- 
 terly repugnant to a match in which it 
 had no fhare. 
 
 "The 
 
T H E R E C E S S, &c. 107 
 
 " The Princefs Elizabeth (whofe noble 
 endurance of an unjuft imprifonment, 
 will reflect eternal honouron herprudence) 
 was, during the life of her fifter, kept in 
 clofe captivity; various Lords, as various 
 fears obliged them to change, had the 
 charge of her: the Earl of Arundel was 
 for a fhort time entrufted with the impor- 
 tant office, and thus was I early introduced 
 to the knowledge of that pious lady. Far 
 from extending the prejudices fhe might 
 juftly have imbibed againft my family to 
 myfelf, me was pleafed to honour me with 
 hernoticej to take amufement in polifhing 
 my manners and accompliming my mind. 
 Brought up a Catholic, it was to her I 
 owed the enlightening of my underftand- 
 ing, and the difcretion to conceal a dif- 
 ference of opinion from my benefactor, 
 which might have alienated, and perhaps 
 broke his heart. 
 
 "•My attachment to her was as great 
 as her own goodnefs; I longed, with 
 the ardour of youth, to fignalize myfelf 
 in her fervice; nor was ir long before an 
 occafion offered. The Earl of Devon- 
 shire, 
 
io8 THE RECESS, k 
 
 Jhire, actuated, cither by love or ambition, 
 flattered himfelfthat the Princefs's captivity 
 would make her gladly embrace apropofal 
 of marriage: he engaged many noblemen 
 who favoured the Protectant religion in the 
 fcheme, and he imagined nothing was ne- 
 ceffary towards obtaining her confent but 
 herknowledgeof thedefign. To effect this, 
 lie difguifed bimfelf as a gardener, and 
 worked feveral days in the hope of feeing 
 Elizabeth, but in vain ; for the Queen's 
 orders were io ftrict, that fhe was allowed 
 for exercife only a long, gallery with lat- 
 ticed windows, which joined to her apart- 
 ment. The awkwardness of the Earl in 
 his new employment, of, which I was 
 fond, and confequently a competent judge, 
 caught my attention ; I fpoke to him, 
 and the involuntary tremor, cauied by a 
 fear of detection, ftrengthened my fuf- 
 picion ; he eluded my queftions with 
 too much exscinds, to be what he af- 
 fected ; and this i mentioned en fu ally to 
 the Prince is, while entertaining her in the 
 gallery : fhe liftenect to what I faid at- 
 ■ tentively, and then walking to the win- 
 dow, 
 
 \ 
 
THE RECESS, k ic 9 
 
 dow, defired me to point out the man, 
 who was fitting to reft himfelf, with his 
 eyes fixed intently on the houfe ; Elizabeth 
 remained at the window buried in thought; 
 at laft, turning towards me, fhe demanded, 
 if I efteemed her enough to run fome 
 hazard for her fake ? I afilired her with 
 an eagernefs proportioned to the de- 
 fire I had to ferve her, that fhe could 
 command nothing I would not execute 
 with joy. She replied, lc had not me ex- 
 pected fuch an anfwer, fhe had not ventur- 
 ed fuch a queflion ; — what I wifh then, 
 continued the Princefs, is that, when. 
 you can find him alone, you will tell 
 that man, I have jeen, and know him ; 
 and fince I cannot doubt but that his in- 
 tention is to render me fome fervice, I re- 
 queft he will fignify its nature by you ; 
 however as he may doubt the Gncerity of a 
 gentleman, whole intereft kerns fo oppo- 
 fite to his own, lhew him this jewel, he 
 will remember it, and fay I bid you tell 
 him, that it was the gift of his father 
 to me fome years ago." 
 
 " The 
 
no THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 cc The Princefs then took from her arm 
 a remarkable diamond, and gave it to 
 my care; I withdrew from her prefence, 
 and never did night feem longer than that 
 I fpent, before it was pofiible for me to 
 execute her command ; but refolved not 
 to lofe a moment, T arofe very early, and 
 placed myfelf in a thicker^ through which 
 1 knew he mufl pafs. His relu&ance to 
 mix with the daily labourers, whofe hap- 
 pinefs reaches not beyond a coarfe meal, 
 and a coarfe jeft, made him ufually come 
 alone, and when the reft were pall, 1 faw 
 him approach. Certain, without knowing 
 who he was, that he muftbe a man of dif- 
 tinction, I drew near him with refpeft, 
 and delivered my embafly ; the confufion 
 and doubt my addrefs occafioned, vanish- 
 ed at fight of the d'amond j he fell into 
 raptures at the goodnefs of the Princefs, 
 and no words Itemed fufficient to tcftify 
 his gratitude for my fervice. 
 
 "Acquainted enough with the world to 
 know that the placing a confidence is the 
 iureft way of attaching a young mind, 
 lie made no fecretofhis name, and gave 
 
 into 
 
THE RECESS, k m 
 
 into my hands a letter as valuable to him 
 as his life. 
 
 Elizabeth, difguftedatthe free hope heex- 
 preft,or perhaps unwilling to remove hcrfelf 
 ftill farther from the throne by offending 
 her filler, declined thepropofal of the Earl, 
 who neglected no inftance to induce her to 
 change her mind, as he could never hope 
 to find a time fo favourable for her efcape : 
 he fancied at lait, that I had an intereit in 
 her rejecting him, and when nothing could 
 prevail with her, lavifhed all his re- 
 proaches on me, as the capital obftacle. 
 1 know-not to what extremities he might 
 have carried his refertment, had not Lord 
 Arundel, to whom the head gardener had 
 declared his fufpicion of this man, from 
 having found fome jewels fewed in his 
 garb, caufed him to be apprehended ; but 
 his ill health and infirmities, difabling 
 him from an immediate examination, no- 
 tice was fent to the Court, and the Earl 
 confined with caution. The Princefs 
 alarmed at this acci.lent, which fhe fore- 
 faw her enemies would conftrue to her dis- 
 advantage, without giving her alliance to 
 
 juftify 
 
ii2 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 juftify herfelf, forgot that calmnefs, which 
 conftituted in her early years the meri- 
 torious part of her character, I too fen- 
 fibly felt her afflictions, not to participate 
 in this: and to prove my fympathy, formed 
 a defign, which the romantic generofity 
 incident to youth alone could juftify. 
 
 cc Intruded with the charge of the cri- 
 minal, it was very eafy for me, in the 
 dead of night, to fet him free; but to ren- 
 der my generofity complete, and enfure 
 his efcape, I ordered a horfe to be held 
 in readineis in the thicket as for myfelf, 
 and furnifliing him with fome clothes of 
 my own, conducted him to the garden 
 gate, and returned more fatisfied with my 
 own conduct than I ever yet had been. 
 
 " The confequences of his efcape fug- 
 gefted themfelves immediately *o Lord 
 Arundel on his receiving the informa- 
 tion j he lent for me, as my connivance 
 was evident, and enraged at my refufing 
 even a reafon for it, fave the promife ^l 
 had made, he ordered me to be confined, 
 and dii patched a melfenger to court with 
 the full particulars of the prifon r r's cn- 
 
 laro-ernent. 
 
THE R E C E S S, &c. 113 
 
 largement. A fhort time, however, abated 
 his refentment ; he reproached himfelf 
 for a rafhnefs as culpable as my own, and 
 lent feveral of his fervants to flay the firft, 
 but not finding him return, he was 
 pleafed at once to forget my obftinacy, 
 and by coming to vifit me, fhew he 
 pardoned my fault — He then told me he 
 had nothing to prcpofe, that would enfure 
 my fafety, but immediate -flight; and not 
 doubting, but that he could appeafe the 
 Queen, recommended me to fet out im- 
 mediately far Ireland, to take refuge with 
 his brother-in-law, Sir Patrick Lineric. 
 Overwhelmed with his goodnefs, I had no 
 way to atone for my error, but obedience, 
 and prepared for my journey without he- 
 frtation; — the reluctance with which the 
 Earl parted from me, was a cutting re- 
 proach ; but heaven did not fuffer me to 
 efcape unpunifhed: I was met on the road 
 by a party of guards, conducted by the 
 firft mefTenger, who ignorant of the change 
 in Lord Arundel's refolution, imagined I 
 was making my efcape likewife, and con- 
 jured the officer to feize me: aftonifhed 
 Vol. I. I at 
 
H4 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 at a ftroke fo unforefeen and unlucky, I 
 delivered up my arms without refifta^ice, 
 and was conducted to the Tower of Lon- 
 don. 
 
 *" Some days elapfed without my feeing 
 any but my guard, when I was con- 
 dueled before the privy council, and 
 interrogated concerning what I knew 
 of the prifoner and his defigns ; but re- 
 futing to anfwer, I was remanded back to 
 a clofer dungeon and harder fare. This 
 was repeated feveral times, infomuch 
 that I was aftonilhed at not being tried 
 and fentenced by the law; when one day 
 I was agreeably furpriled at feeing Lord 
 Arundel enter my pnfon. Want of air 
 and proper food had fo altered me, that 
 the good man, neglecting his com million, 
 wept like an infant on my neck ; but re- 
 covering, and remembering he was not 
 fent to confole me, and had witneiTes at- 
 tending to report our difcourfe, he began 
 witS conjuring me, by every power he 
 had over me, as a father, a guardian, and 
 a friend, to provide for my own fafety by 
 a difcovery of all I knew, without which 
 
 my 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 115 
 
 tny life world be devoted, in fpiteofhis 
 efforts, and the affliction of lofmg the 
 only prop of his age, would infallibly 
 morten his days. 
 
 " The gf ntlenefs of his addrefs, the 
 concern which wrung every venerable 
 feature, pierced my foul ; and, although 
 I could not betray the Princefs, I will 
 candidly confefs I lamented my rafh of- 
 ficioufnefs in ferving her j but as repen- 
 tance was fruitlefs, I had only to fummon 
 patience to endure an evil I had brought 
 on myfeif : neverthelefs, to afHicT: the be- 
 nefactor, to whofe goodnefs I owed all, 
 was a' trial indeed. I threw myfeif at his 
 feet, I conjured him only to remember 
 my obftinacy, to cad me from his heart, 
 but never to employ a power I revered, to 
 make me odious and contemptible, — af- 
 luring him, that an honourable death was, 
 in my eyes, infinitely more to be defired 
 than a life prolonged by treachery and in- 
 gratitude. — He regarded me with atten- 
 tion, and after feeming to deliberate for 
 a moment, he proceeded to offer me the 
 moft fplendid rewards. I ftopthimj <c oh, 
 I 2 
 
n6 THE RECESS, k 
 
 my Lord ! exclaimed I, can you think fa 
 meanly of the man before you, as to be- 
 lieve, after refuting your entreaties, he 
 can poorly be bribed to do ill ; how truly 
 unworthy then were I of the name of 
 your fori ?** 
 
 cc What can I fay ?" faid he, turning 
 to fome men prefent, and drawing his 
 hands from mine to clafp them together 
 in an agony of grief; <c how feek to cor- 
 rupt a conftancy I admire ? Adieu, my 
 dear fon, I am unequal to the talk im- 
 pofed on me. May the God who taught 
 you principles fo jult, blefs and protect 
 you, whatever your fate ; my days may 
 Hill be fewer than yours, and this is, per- 
 haps, an eternal farewell. — Adieu again, I 
 will never forgetyou;" faying thefe words, 
 he caught hold of fome perfons prefent, 
 who rather carried than led him out. 
 
 <c I had before this been fupported by 
 pride, but the fenfe of doing wrong, had 
 never mingled with my feelings till now: 
 my own life had hitherto preiented no- 
 thing to make it particularly valuable ; 
 
 but 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 117 
 
 but that of Lord Arundel, was a blef- 
 fing to himfclf and his country : and 
 what right had I to fhorten it ? I, whofe 
 peculiar duty it was to watch over his 
 decay, and frnooth his paiTage to the 
 erave : this remembrance o-ave me inex- 
 preffible grief. 
 
 " I found likewifethat the court, from 
 my refolution, imagined the plot of much 
 more confequence than it really was; yet 
 after fo many denials I could not declare 
 the whole, without bringing an imputa- 
 tion, more terrible than death, on my 
 memory: I therefore called together every 
 reflection that could fortify my mind, 
 and waited my fate with compofure. 
 
 " A very few days after this interview 
 put an end to the life of a Queen, whofe 
 cruelty call a blot alike upon her fex and 
 religion, and Elizabeth being placed on 
 the throne by the voice of the people, made 
 the opening of my prifon doors one of her 
 firlt cares ;-- -fhe did me the honor of fee- 
 ing me in the garments I had worn in my 
 confinement, and gave me her royal word 
 that fhe could find no greater pleafure in 
 I 3 her 
 
n8 T H E R E C E S S, &e. 
 
 her fovereignty, than that of rewarding 
 my fidelity. 
 
 fC An allay was prepared to this fatis- 
 facYion ; Lord Arundel had expired the 
 night before of the gout in his ftomach j 
 but,knov/ingI might claim my fafety from 
 the new Queen, he had left me joint heir 
 with his niece, of his eftatcs, with only 
 one condition, which was, that of mar- 
 rying her; ordering the covenant mould 
 be fulfilled in two years, and if either 
 parry refufed to comply, his or her mare 
 of the fortune mould 20 to the other. — 
 All the advantages I could have reaped, 
 had he left me ible heir of his wealth, 
 would never have recompenfed me for 
 his lofs. This blow lefiened the hopes 
 of my life; I had promifed myfelt in the 
 firfr. moments of my freedom 5- to con- 
 vince this nobly difmterefted friend, that 
 independence could never Icflen my gra- 
 titude, but would rather increafe an at- 
 tachment to which the malicious could 
 then aflign no motive but the jult one. 
 
 " The Queen, in the firft years of her 
 reign, leaded me with honors, called me 
 
 her 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 119 
 
 her knight, nor entered into any amufe- 
 ment in which I was not a party. The 
 obfequious behaviour of my equals, Mat- 
 tered a vanity latent in my heart, and per- 
 fuaded me that they faw deeper into her in- 
 tentions than rnyfeif. I was much younger 
 than Elizabeth, and involved in another 
 engagement, yet the world thought fhe 
 loved me: but being little difpofed to 
 matrimony, and by the Queen's bounty 
 enabled to indulge myfelf, I gave up to 
 Mils Lineric the eftates of her uncle, with- 
 out even feeing her, becaufe I would not of- 
 fend the relation of Lord Arundel, bygiv- 
 ingthe world reafonto believe I did it from 
 diitafte. This circumilance no Sooner 
 reached the ear of the Queen, than it filled 
 her with gladnefs vifible to the whole 
 Court, which confirmed them in the be- 
 lief that 1 was deilined one day to (hare 
 her rank. I had reafon to be convinced, 
 from many circurrrftances of the Queen's 
 conduct, known but to my lei f, that me 
 really had an affjfiion for me, and only 
 waited rill fome of :hz elder nobility, who 
 were my rivals, had given up the purfuit, 
 1 4 and 
 
120 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 and till my years allowed her to make me 
 her choice without bringing a cenfure on 
 her prudence. 
 
 " Attached to Elizabeth rather by gra- 
 titude than affection, I had patience 
 enough to wait her refolution, and enter- 
 tained myfelf rather with the gaieties, than 
 the politics of the kingdom. It was at 
 this time the beautiful Mary of Scoiland 
 fhone forth (fatally forherfelf) the rival of 
 Elizabeth, and deftroyed that peace which 
 profperity and admiration had contributed 
 to beftow on our Queen. In the adverfity 
 of her youth, fhe had been Mattered with 
 the idea of fupporting a fuperioriry over 
 her oppreflbr by a difcreet fubmiffion ; 
 but to meet with lb powerful a rival in 
 beauty, talents, and empire, when at the 
 fummit of her glory, was a ftroke as mor- 
 tifyino- as unexpected ; Elizabeth ever 
 fickened at the name of Mary, and, by 
 extravagant pralfes, pointed the fevere re- 
 markslhe continually made on her conduct. 
 She maintained with a rigid exactnefs the 
 advantages fhe poffeffed, from the fili- 
 ation 
 
THE RECESS, See. 121 
 
 ation of her kingdom, over her neighbour, 
 and continually affected to chvife her a 
 hufband from the handfome and diffolute 
 nobles of her Court. Mclvil, the Scotch 
 Ambaffador, among other prefents to Eli- 
 zabeth, brought with him a picture ol his 
 miftrefs ; it was done by a French art- 
 id exquifitely {killed ; this little por- 
 trait Elizabeth always wore hanging to 
 her breaft : I never beheld it without ad- 
 miring the finefc imitation art could ex- 
 ecute of the mod finifhed production of 
 nature. One evening while the Queen 
 was converfing with me, my eyes, by a 
 kind of habit, were fixed on this orna- 
 ment : Vnc fuddenly rofe, and retired in 
 great wrath to her apartment. She fhut 
 herfelf up three days before the extrava- 
 gance of her refentment permitted her to 
 form any refolution ; at laft the Countefs 
 cf Somerfet came to me with the pic- 
 ture, and an affurance from the Queen, 
 that, as Ihe perceived I could never be 
 happy without the original, fhe mould 
 alter her defigns, and had fent directions 
 
 to 
 
122 THE R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 to the Earl of Bedford to propofe me to' 
 Mary. 
 
 " Thunder (truck at fo excefiive and ri- 
 diculous a jealoufy, I neglected nothing 
 to fatisfy the Queen; I made a thoufand 
 protections of my indifference to the 
 Queen of Scots in vain ; Elizabeth's pride 
 was offended, and that was the hardeft to 
 nppeafe of all her pafilons — flic infifted 
 on my keeping the picture, and haughti- 
 ly forbad me ever to remember her but as 
 my fovereign. 
 
 <c I retired from her prefence piqued by 
 her hatightinefs, which, though a quality 
 adapted to her rank, is difgtiftirig in her 
 fex. The picture of Mary was yet in my 
 hand — when I remembered the fweet- 
 nefs and arlability ilie was famed for, 
 the infinite fuperiority of her charms, 
 and the foftnefs of her character, I was 
 grateful to Elizabeth for her angor ; fince 
 it broke the ties my gratitude had formed, 
 and left me in hope of a happier fate. — i 
 I repented a menage I had fent off to the 
 Earl of Bedford to forbid his mentioning 
 
 my 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 123 
 
 my name, and only wifhed in might ar- 
 1 rive too late. — In my union with Eliza- 
 beth I faw I mult be a cypher, for me 
 was jealous to excefs of her power : with 
 Mary I might (hare a kingdom, and, by 
 : pidying her humour, render her and my-. 
 felf happy. All our willies are not, how- 
 ever, to- be fuecefsfui. The Queen of 
 Scots, prepoiTerTed tf+at Elizabeth intend- 
 ed to raife me to the throne of England, 
 believed the propofal a jfft, and treated 
 it as fuch. The Earl of Bedford gave into 
 this, from a conviction that he mould 
 oblige me by it,, and thus I faw my- 
 fdf } after having afpired to wo Queens, 
 without hopes of either. 
 
 cc From the moment of my being neg- 
 lected by Elizabeth, I had found myfelf 
 in the condition of thofe favorites who- 
 fall from the pinnacle of greatnefs to ob- 
 fcuricy. After feeing my prefence make & 
 circle, and my apartment a Court, I ap- 
 peared alone, or continued in iolitude. 
 Van>y, and not generolty, had governed 
 me, and of thole who followed,, no one 
 reaiiy loved, and all envied me ; they re- 
 
 ioiced 
 
124 T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 joiced in my difgrace, and ridiculed my 
 ambition. What (hall I fay, ladies? mall 
 I give falfe motives for my actions, or con- 
 fefs faults my youth may excufe ? I muft 
 be fin cere, whether that fincerity interefts 
 you in my favour or otherwife. 
 
 <l Refolved at all events to have the 
 pleafuie of mortifying my enemies — I 
 wrote to the Queen, affuring her, that the 
 honors (lie had loaded me with, were incum- 
 brances, fince me had withdrawn her favor, 
 and if my offence (unwitting as it was) 
 exceeded forgivenefs, I requefted to refign 
 my employments and retire to Kenilworth. 
 This letter I took an opportunity of pre - 
 fenting to her in the gardens of Sheen, 
 but, far from pronouncing a fevere fen- 
 tence, me was pleafed to fried tears, and 
 tenderly reproach me on the lightneis of 
 my attachment ; on which I took the picture 
 or the Queen of Scots, and cafting it into 
 the Thames, entreated her to bury with it 
 the remembrance of my fault. — She gave 
 me her hand' to kifs, and I had the pride 
 of leading her to the Court, re-inftated 
 in her favor. 
 
 « This 
 
T H E R E C E S S, &c. 125 
 
 fC This difgrace taught me a ufeful lef- 
 fon; which was to employ my power but 
 to fcrve the worthy, the only way to fe- 
 cure friends and avoid making enemies. 
 * I learnt how to rate juftly all who fur- 
 rounded me, to defpife flattery, and by 
 never elevating myfelf, put it out of the 
 power of malice or envy in future to hu- 
 miliate me. The Queen was prefTed by 
 the Parliament to marry; fhe had pro- 
 mised to deliberate on the propofal, and 
 my intereft in her heart, made me hope 
 a favorable conclufion to my fuit, when 
 an unfortunate chance overturned all my 
 Ichemes and hopes, and made me trem- 
 ble whenever the Queen opened her 
 lips to me, left I mould hear a refo- 
 lution which was fo lately my utmoft 
 wiih. 
 
 " Sir Walter, the head of the Deve- 
 reux family, was lately created Earl of 
 EfTex; he had been fent to Ireland to fub- 
 due the rebels, where he married. He 
 returned to Court to prefent his bride, 
 whom I had fcarce regarded a moment, 
 when my heart became fenfible of a fen- 
 
 timent 
 
1 26 T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 timent unknown to it before. I was am- 
 bitious of her notice, and envied the 
 -courtiers who furrounded her; I yet trem- 
 bled to approach her, and the compli- 
 ment of introduction was delivered by 
 me with a low voice and timid air ; the cold 
 dignity of her manner, and her inftantly 
 turning from me to converfe with Lord 
 JSandSj affronted me highly. I examined 
 all I had faid or done, but not finding 
 an/ thing exceptionable on my part, I 
 condemned her as a Mattered girl, vain 
 ■ of accidental advantages even to folly, 
 and retired without taking any farther 
 notice of Lady EM ex. The Queen gave 
 a ball that evening: I dreft: feveraJ hours 
 too foon, and continually fancied the clock 
 ftood. Not doubting but that I had the 
 power of mortifying Lady Efiex, I deter- 
 mined to ufe it; even her Lord feemed uni- 
 ted in her offence, though I had no com- 
 plaint to make againft him but that he 
 had married her. In fhort, pleafedor angry, 
 I could think of nothing but this lovely wo- 
 man, and though I fhid at home till quite 
 
 tiredi 
 
THE RECESS, &c, 127 
 
 tired, I found myfelf the firft in the draw-. 
 ing room. 
 
 " The Queen learning I was there, and 
 pleafed with my attention, which fhe 
 placed to her own account, {cm for me 
 to her clofetj among other queftions, fhe 
 afked how I liked Lady EfTex, and the 
 afperity with which I cenfured her, was 
 far from difpleafing Elizabeth, who had 
 a talent for fatire and was fond of all who 
 excelled in it. 
 
 " We entered the room at the fame mor 
 ment with the lovely bride, more obvi- 
 oufly fo as more adoined. The Queen 
 i turned to me who was leaning on the 
 : ba:k of her chair--' { I think, laid fhe, 
 my Lord, I mull take the liberty of ap- 
 pointing you to dance with Lady EfTex, 
 1 that the Court may have an opportunity 
 1 of admiring how well I have matched 
 ! her " " I thought, returned I, your Ma- 
 j jefty had promifed me the pleafure of en- 
 1 tertaining you ; and furely Lady EfTex has 
 matched herfelf much more happily." 
 ft Lord 1 .eicefter, madam, faid that Lady 
 in an ironical tone, is uniform in his opi- 
 nion 
 
i 2 8 T PI E RECESS, Sit, 
 
 nion refpecling me, and for once I agree 
 with him." Saying this, fhe gave her hand 
 to her Lord, who honoured the younger 
 Cecil with it- Amazed at a pique, I could 
 no way explain, 1 remained in a fullen re- 
 verie, till the Queen interrupted it by 
 alking, if I did not think Lady Effex's 
 wit inclined to the fevere ? I replied, 
 <f when I knew whether fhe had any fenfe 
 I mould judge of her wit, but that atpre- 
 fent fhe was perfectly unintelligible ta> 
 me." Why, furely my Lord, cried the 
 Queen, leaning on the arm of her chair 
 and raifing her eyes to mine, you know 
 fhe was Mils Limeric ?" What a fund 
 of intelligence was conveyed in thefe few 
 words, and what a revolution did they 
 make in my mind! — To find I had re- 
 fufed, and, in refilling, infulted the wo- 
 man on whom my happir.efs mufi depend, 
 or, rather, from whofe refentment my 
 mifefy was begun.— Pride, anger, and 
 ambition vaniihed; my heart overflowing 
 with chagrin and love, applauded her juft 
 ■difdain, and owned thatihe could neverde- 
 fpiie me for my ftupidity half fo much as 
 
 I did 
 
THE RECESS, fie. 129 
 
 I did myfelf. Infenfible to all the dif- 
 courfe of the Queen, my eyes purfued 
 with a vain and late regret the beauteous 
 bride, till the meanders of the dance 
 •eluding my fight, I ftruck my head in a 
 tranfport againft the Queen's chair, and 
 ■being obliged to excufe myfeif, com- 
 plained of a vertigo and retired. 
 
 " I was interrupted in the midft of the 
 difagreeable reflections arifing from the 
 paft fcene, .by Elizabeth's phyfician, whom 
 Ihe had gracioufly ordered to attend me. 
 He eafiiy invented a reafbn for a malady 
 his art could neither caufe or cure, and 
 ^having directed me to be bled, left me 
 to repofe. The Queen fent feveral mef- 
 fengers to enquire after me, and when I 
 paid my duty next to her, almofc gave 
 me a relapfe by dilmiiTmg her attendants. 
 Perplexed and uneaiy, 1 hardly dared 
 to raife my eyes, or anticipate her de- 
 termination. I met hers, which feemed 
 equally irrefolute, and a paufe of a few 
 moments was at iaft interrupted by Eli- 
 zabeth. 
 
 ' Vol. I. K " She 
 
i 3 o THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 *' She informed me, that after the moft 
 mature deliberation, fhe found, that 
 although fhe preferred me to all men 
 exifting, fhe could not by marrying 
 make me happy, or be fo herfelf •, that 
 in yielding to this weaknefs of her 
 heart, fhe fuould forever fully her reputa- 
 tion for wifdom, which would always, 
 while fingle, teach her how to manage 
 other potentates, either by hope or fear; 
 ajnd that fuch a degradation, in general 
 opinion, would too fenfibly afFecl: her.-— 
 Xeicefter, faid fhe, thou feeft my inge- 
 nuous motives — I know thou lovefl me, 
 and to make thee fome |amends for the 
 grief this muft give thee, be afTured by 
 our royal word, that we will never marry 
 another man however glorious his rank. 
 Confider, therefore, whatever matrimo- 
 nial treaties are on foot as tubs thrown 
 out to the whale, and remember Eliza- 
 beth's friendship fhall diftinguifh thee al- 
 mofl as much as her choice could. 
 
 " I kifTed the hand fhe held out to me 
 with apparent chagrin, but in reality fhe 
 had relieved my heart from a heavy load. 
 
 I ven- 
 
T H t RECESS, &c. r$r 
 
 I verittired to admire a fortitude which, 
 reduced me to defpair, arid thus amply 
 gratified that vanity, which inner, takes 
 the lead of every fofter pafiion. Neverthe- 
 lefs, I was ftruck with her demand of a 
 folemn promife on my part, never to 
 marry without her CQufcnty and confider- 
 ed it as a felfifh and arbitrary exaction un- 
 known to a tender heart. 
 
 <c The whole Court learnt that I had loft: 
 mv hopes without lofing my influence. 
 The Queen, juft to her promife, gave me 
 a palpable fuperiority on every occafion, 
 and I only defired it to make my homage 
 more gratifying to the fair Lady EiTex, 
 who mewed too much anger to rob me of 
 hope. Rad fhe appeared equally indif- 
 ferent and polite, fhe would totally have 
 •difcouraged me, but a man may reafon- 
 ably flatter -himfelf with the profpeCb of 
 a pardon, as long as a lady deigns to 
 appear offended. I made every pofHble 
 conceflion to her pride, and the pleafure 
 fhe found in humbling me, interwove me 
 infenfibiy with her happinefs. 
 
 Ki « I mould 
 
i 3 2 T HE.: RICH S,"&c. 
 
 " I fhould fpare to your virgin delicacy, 
 Jadks, the acknowledgment of a difgrace- 
 ful and- guilty love:, were it not abfolutely 
 ■ eflentiar 'to mark the remainder of my 
 ftory. There was a levity and incon- 
 fiftency in the manners of Lady EfTex, 
 which foon awakened her Lord's jealoufy j 
 and as flie had always been indulged to 
 folly, fhe could fo ill brook any reft/rain t, 
 that it threw her the more readily into my 
 power. The belief that I was loved alorte 
 by her, and had myfelf reduced' her to 
 make another choice, enabled her to pre- 
 ferve a merit with me even in her fall. 
 The few hours we could fteal, were la- 
 vifhed in the mod ardent affection. I grew 
 almofr as jealous of her as her Lord, and 
 bleil the caution with which he fhut her up 
 more and more, even from me, fince it to- 
 tally excluded all other lovers. Theoftenerl 
 iaw her, however, the more ardently I de- 
 fired it; and when at laft her Lord was ap- 
 pointed to thecommand of the forces in Ire- 
 land, whither he defpotically refolved to 
 carry her, my paffion and grief kept pace 
 
 with 
 
THE ..RECE'S Sj &c. 133 
 
 with hers ; the Court preferred nothing to 
 me worthy to fupply the lofs of one fan 
 amiable, and had not the Queen given - 
 me a command in the Low Countries, I 
 know not how. I mould long have con-., 
 cealed the emptinefs of my bofom now. 
 its tenant was flown. j 
 
 . <c Several years pail away in a variety of*, 
 fcenes without my feeing Lady Effex, when; 
 the early death of her Lord left her at, 
 liberty to fix her refidence in England. 
 I returned home on the firfl intelligence. < 
 The fober widowhood in which {he lived,-, 
 made it difficult for me to £ain admiiiion 
 to her prefence, which I at laft effected 
 by a difguife. Pier beauty {hone through j 
 her fables with new and more touching 
 graces, while my heart betrayed me into, 
 involuntary exclamations and careiTes. She 
 wept, and retreating from my arms, allured . 
 me, the only aclion of her life fhe repented 
 was that attachment which had fullied her . 
 innocence, and which {he was refolved to 
 expiate by eternal feeiufion and repentance. 
 All my entreaties were fruitlefs. She burfl 
 K 3 fronv. 
 
*34 THE R E C £ S S, fee. 
 
 from me into an apartment where flie told 
 me, her brother, Mr. Lineric, was> who 
 inftantly ruihed into the room,, and de- 
 manded by what right I had preformed to 
 detain Lady EfTex ? I anfwered truly, by that 
 of a lover alone, and flattered myfelf with 
 gaining the intereft of this young Irifhman 
 in favor of my pretentions, by obtaining a 
 confiderable poft for him the next day. I 
 eafily difcerned his filler's aim was a marri- 
 age with me, which from every reafon, and 
 more efpecially the promife I had made to 
 the Queen, I wifhed to avoid. Endlefs 
 negociations were carried on, and thefe 
 fermented the weakneis of my heart to 
 fuch a degree, that i forgot her error. Va- 
 nity but too eafily perfuades a generous 
 man to pardon a frailty of which he is 
 the caufe and the object. Lady EfTex 
 liftened very readily to an honourable 
 propofal, and gave me ac Greenwich an 
 exclufive claim to that hand fo long, fo 
 paffionately beloved. 
 
 " Anxious to conceal this event from the 
 Queen, who rigidly maintained over me 
 the rights of a jealous lover, while fhe 
 
 declaimed 
 
THE R E C E S S, &c. 435 
 
 difclaimed the title, I vifited my bride 
 very rarely, and my affe&ion rather en- 
 creafed than diminifhed ; in fad, I was 
 the more completely happy when with, 
 becaufe I hourly experienced, in every 
 abfence, the impoffibility of being happy 
 without her." — 
 
 To return one moment to the poo* 
 Matilda; from the moment Lord Leices- 
 ter named this Lady, my heart prefaged 
 her his wife ; the clofing evening had 
 luckily prevented the various changes of 
 my countenance from being vifible, but 
 the fuppreft fwellings of my heart at kit 
 conquered my'fpirits, and I funk back 
 at this part of his recital, if not fainting, 
 at leaft fenfelefs. 
 
 Lord Leicefter, alarmed, united with 
 the terrified Ellinor to recover me ; when 
 fearing, my full eyes wpuld betray my 
 heart, I urged indifpofition, and befought 
 his excufe for retiring to my chamber. 
 He made many apologies for having fa- 
 tigued me, to which Lllinor alone could 
 anfwer. As foon as he left us, giving 
 K 4 way 
 
.136 T. H.E.. R.5CE S.S, fcc. 
 
 way. to an irrefiftible impulfe of fad- 
 nefs, I threw my arms round Ellinor, 
 and wept bitterly ; her generous tears 
 ftreamed with mine, and we feemed fully 
 to mingle fouls without exchanging one 
 word. 
 
 €( I underfland you, my beloved fifte.r, 
 faid Ihe, and will fpare your delicacy, but 
 you wanted courage to hear the whole, 
 and this lady is not immortal. Think 
 better of yourfelf and your hopes, my dear 
 Matilda, for Ellinor becomes a prophet 
 in your eauie, and fays that Lord Leicefter 
 and you were born for each other." 
 
 This little (ally could not call the (mile 
 Ihe wifh'ed for into my cheek. I was the 
 more hurt at this event, becaufe I had, 
 (though I know not for what reafon except 
 that we all too readily believe what we 
 wifh) overlooked it in my arrangement of 
 fuppofitions. I paft the whole night in 
 walking about my room, and lamenting. 
 " He is married ! I would exclaim ; that 
 invaluable heart and hand are then ano- 
 ther's ! Oh, juft Heaven ! have I then in- 
 herited my mother's fate with her fea- 
 tures ? 
 
T H E RE C E S S, kc. 137 
 
 tures? Is a guilty pafiion ordained to.be 
 the crime and fcourge of all my race ? 
 let me at lead bury it in my bofom. Yes, 
 cried 1, with confcious dignity, I maybe 
 unfortunate but not cenfih able : the 
 daughter of Mary fnail be worthy the 
 Stuart line. When this admired Leicefter 
 returns into the world, he fhall remember 
 with reverence this innocent afylum, and 
 the family of Howard fhall be flill dear 
 to him. Oh may he return in fafety to 
 that moft happy of wives ! while I wafte 
 my youth in a folitude only pleafmg by 
 its having once been his fhelter." Self 
 would then predominate, and floods of 
 impaflioned tears wafli away every juft re- 
 iblution. Alas, I forget to whom I am 
 writing ; the language and thoughts of 
 lovers muft be uniformly the fame, and I 
 can only excufe thefe rhapfodies, by ob- 
 ferving that a tender heart traces its own 
 emotions under the name of another with 
 a melancholy pleafure. 
 
 Lord Leicefter, at the ufual hour, the 
 next day refumed his narrative. 
 
 « The 
 
i 3 8 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 " The wars in the Low Countries car- 
 ried me abroad half the year ; and the re- 
 mainder I divided between the Court and 
 my Lady. Security perhaps produced 
 carelelTnefs, and the French AmbafTador, 
 whole Court was interefted in depriving mc 
 of the Queen's favor, as the chief obftacle 
 to her appointed marriage with the Duke 
 of Anjou, by fome unexpected vigilance 
 traced out the fecret of my marriage, of 
 which he immediately apprized Elizabeth. 
 I had the vexation one morning to receive 
 the moft marked tokens of her difplea- 
 fure, for (lie is but too well known to give 
 anunboundedlicenfe to hertongue, when- 
 ever her paffions are awakened. She ended 
 her virulent reproaches with ordering me 
 immediately to join the army in the Ne- 
 therlands, and forbade me ever to return 
 without her permifiion. Thunderftruck 
 both with the difcovery and her conduct, I 
 bowed and retired, without attempting to 
 offer a fingle word in my own defence. 
 The Queen made me however fome atone- 
 ment for her violence, by refufing theDuke, 
 
 when 
 
T H E R E C E S S, &c. 13$ 
 
 when every preliminary was fettled; which, 
 cruelly difappointed the French Ambaf- 
 fador. 
 
 " No longer condemned to filence, my 
 retinue efcorted Lady Leicefter to Kenil- 
 worth Caftle as the fafeft refidence while 
 the Queen's anger continued ; and I 
 obeyed her in departing for Holland. I 
 foon learnt that Elizabeth's chief reafon 
 for not recalling me, was the being obli- 
 ged to pardon my wife, to whom, by a 
 moft unaccountable whim, (he had trans- 
 ferred all her refentment, and whom me 
 hoped to punifh by continuing to feparate 
 us. The timeSj and a variety of reafohs* 
 made our correfpondence uncertain * 
 months lbmetimes elapfed, and without I 
 fent an exprefs, I obtained no news of 
 one fo dear to me. I was unjuft enough to 
 impute the difficulties by turns to the 
 Queen and my enemies j and piqued at 
 Elizabeth's ungenerous motive for exiling 
 me, refolved to pafs over incognito into 
 England, and conduct Lady Leicefter in- 
 to the Netherlands, or, if ihe was averfe 
 to that meafure, endeavour to appeafe 
 
 the Queen. 
 
 " I ex- 
 
i 4 o THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 " I executed my defign fo happily, that 
 my arrival at my own Caftle was the 
 firft news of my intention to Lady Lei-. 
 cefter, whom I found confined to the 
 houfe by indifpofuion. It ftruck me that ; 
 her joy was nearly allied toibrrow; but the 
 thought was momentary, and I imputed 
 it to her malady. Her beauty appeared 
 much impaired, but placing the altera- 
 tion merely to grief for my abfence, it 
 became a new call upon my tendernefs. 
 She told me the terror fhe was under of 
 Elizabeth, had made her almoft a prifoner 
 in her own houfe, where fhe had paiTed 
 fifteen months without any company ex- 
 cept her brother, who had kindly fol- 
 lowed her into this folitude to fix her in- 
 fluence over an ungovernable train of 
 fervants to whom fhe was a ftranger. I re- 
 turned Lineric every acknowledgment, 
 and complimented him with a fine dia- 
 mond given me by the States on a for- 
 mer occafion. 
 
 "A long abfence from this manfion, 
 where art and nature unite to produce al- 
 moit the effect of novelty, made it ap- 
 pear 
 
THE RECESS, &c 141 
 
 pear a moft heavenly retreat from the 
 noife and buttle of a camp. I pa fled the 
 afternoon in furveying the garden, and 
 directing many neceffary alterations. 
 • " Inienfibly fatigued beyond bearing, 
 I confented, at the perfuafion of my lady, 
 to retire and endeavour to reft an hour 
 early in the evening. I had flept feveral, 
 when my valet, Le Val, threw open the 
 curtains, and with a countenance full of 
 horror and intelligence, deprecated the 
 wrath fuch a rude falutation mufl necef- 
 farily occafion. 
 
 " Amazed beyond exprefiion, I bade 
 him recollect himfelf, iince, while thus 
 confufed, I could not rely on his ac- 
 counts, however kind his intention." 
 
 " Pardon me, my Lord, faid he, the 
 liberty your fafety reduces me to take, of 
 founding the truth of the grievous intel- 
 ligence I am obliged in duty to reveal, by 
 . firfb queltioningyour Lordfhip: have you 
 remarked that almoft all your domefticks 
 are changed ?" 
 
 <c I was (truck with conviction by the 
 
 cjueftion, 
 
142 THE RECESS, &c, 
 
 cjueftion, though I had not made the ob- 
 fervation. 
 
 " No, no, faid he warmly, there was 
 a devilifh reafon for that." 
 
 " Beware, Le Val, returned I, of what 
 you would infinuate ; for if, without proof, 
 you dare afperfe — " 
 
 " I have but too fufficient reafons, my 
 Lord, added he, fhaking his head, but 
 they fhall never pafs this bofom if you 
 give an affirmative to my next demand.-— 
 Are you convinced, my Lord, that man 
 is really brother to my Lady who is called 
 Co? 
 
 <> I hefitated." 
 
 " Let us hope not, faid he with vehe- 
 mence, left we fhock humanity ; for as 
 Jure as one God made them both, they 
 are but too well agreed." 
 
 " Horror-ftruck with the idea, . my 
 heart fickened, and involuntarily admit- 
 ted a doubt but too many circumftances 
 corroborated. — Her love of retirement 
 might proceed more from fuch an attach- 
 ment than regard for me — Nay, even her 
 marriage be but an honourable veil to the 
 
 loofeft 
 
THE R E C E S S, &c. 143 
 
 loofeft connexion. I had neither power 
 nor will to filence the poor fellow, who 
 went on with an honeft eagernefs — 
 
 " Of all the fervants long retained by 
 your Lordfhip, two only remain, and the 
 reft are afet of ungoverned Irifh, attached 
 by country to both brother and fifter. 
 The fewer owns he kept his place by 
 filence and fubmiffion, and dame Mar- 
 gery, the houfekeeper, molt probably, 
 by managing all my Lady's fecrets. But 
 the fewer will make oath of my Lady's 
 intercourfe with Lineric, and, that far 
 from wifhing for your return, they are 
 alarmed at it beyond meafure, as my 
 Lady expects every hour to be delivered. 
 Nor is this all. 
 
 " Give me time to breathe, Le Val I 
 cried I, for this horrible intelligence un- 
 mans me." 
 
 " I could not be filent and know you 
 wronged, my Lord, though your fword 
 were to rip out my heart. But I fear the 
 word — I fear left fomethingis now hatch- 
 ing againft your life, for my Lady is in 
 Margery's room, directing fome carp in 
 
 the 
 
144 THERE C ESS," &S 
 
 the manner you ufed to like fo well; and 
 I faw Lineric's fervant fet out for Coven- 
 try, from whence he is this moment re- 
 turned with a horfe his fpeed has half 
 killed." 
 
 " Well, well, faid I, be allured I {hall 
 confider over all you have faid, and will 
 avoid tailing the difh you mention." 
 
 " Ah, my Lord ! that will only con- 
 vince them you fiifpect their diabolical- 
 intention, and the domefticks of their own- 
 placing form a little army in the houfe. 
 If my Lord will hear the advice of his 
 fervant, I have a way to propofe, which 
 ■will have no ill confequence if no ill is 
 meant ; if otherwife, it will fall only on 
 the contrivers. Another difh compofed 
 of the fame ingredients, the fewer Can 
 place at the bottom of the table ; when the 
 "fupper is ferved, I will pretend to bedrunk, 
 and making a fcuffle in the adjoining hall, 
 my Lady and her brother will naturally 
 take the alarm, and interfere ; the fewer 
 can in the interim change the two difhes, 
 by which means my Lady will tafte 
 
 that 
 
THE RECESS, k. 145 
 
 that of her own preparing, and muft 
 abide the event." 
 
 This plan was of itfelf lb innocent, 
 and well contrived, that I refolved to au- 
 thorife it, and Le Val, fatisfied with his 
 difcovery, retired. He had indeed re- 
 lieved his mind, but what a weight had 
 he left on mine ! The bare idea had filled 
 me with a thoufand horrors. Every thin^ 
 confirms us in either love or hatred.— The 
 filence of my friends when my marriage 
 was difcovered ; the tears of my wife, her 
 altered perfon, that remifmefs in writing, 
 for which J had in my own heart cenfured 
 the Queen— all, in fliort, 1 fo lately- 
 thought ineftimable proofs of her love, 
 now rofe as terrible preemptions of her 
 guilt ; and yet, when I faw her enter my 
 chamber prefently after, and tenderly ac- 
 cufe me for fo long an abfence, I couM 
 have received a mortal draught from her 
 hand with lei's pain than it coil me to fuf- 
 pe<& her. 
 
 The day w<s clofing, and the table 
 covered when 1 entered the Hall, occafi- 
 cned by my long fleep. Le Val began the 
 
 Vol.L L prem-e- 
 
146 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 premeditated uproar, and Lady Leiceftar 
 with her brother flew towards the door, 
 whence the attendants had before depart- 
 ed, eager to encreafe the buftle. The 
 faithful fewer, on whom I kept an eye, 
 exchanged the difhes in the manner agreed, 
 and we returned to the table. I obferved 
 to my Lady that fhe trembled violently, 
 which fhe naturally enough attributed to 
 the alarm. Alluring me that fhe had her- 
 felf prepared the carp, fhe infilled on my 
 doing honor to it, and urging her to bear 
 me company, T accepted her invitation. 
 An involuntary emotion made me every 
 moment ready to prevent her tailing the 
 exchanged difh ; but the pleafure with 
 which the infamous Liberie feemed to 
 fee me fwallow the fuppofed death, fealed 
 my lips. Scarce was the table clear- 
 ed, when Lady Leicefter funk back 
 in flrong convulfions. Confcience made 
 Lineric exclaim, "poifon, poifon!" Every 
 common antidote was adminiftered in 
 vain ; fhe was borne to her chamber in an 
 hopelefs Hate, and I retired to mine to 
 meditate alone. This terrible conviction 
 
 of 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 147 
 
 of the unhappy fate prepared for me on 
 my return from an exile (he alone had oc- 
 cafioned, converted my love into horror 
 and averfion. She raved dreadfully at in- 
 tervals, andperfifting to the lad: that I had 
 poifoned her, expired early in the morn- 
 ing. The blacknefs of the foul diffufed it- 
 felf over the body, and the proof of her in- 
 fidelity became too obvious in herperfon. 
 " Whether Lineric's confutation was 
 lefs liable to infection, or he had tafted 
 the carp more fparingly, it was not till 
 fhe expired that he found himfelf affect- 
 ed ; but the dofe was too deadly for hiiii 
 to efcape. Convinced by his fitter's exam- 
 ple, that there was no effectual antidote, he 
 i iummoned all his Irifh domefticks into his 
 chamber. The faithful Le Val chofe that 
 moment to enter' mine, and inform me 
 of the confult'ation, which he infilled 
 •would produce ibme fatal event, if I did 
 not confer, t that moment to mount horfes 
 ■Which were ready, and attended by him and 
 Williams let' out for London ; this ftep 
 wt)u!d give me the advantage of firnV re- 
 eienting the fact, while it fecured my 
 I- 2 perfon 
 
148 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 perfon from any favage revenge; the fewer 
 in the interim, by the intervention of 
 the tenants, might feize on the Caftle the 
 moment the ruffians abandoned it in pur- 
 fuit of me. 
 
 " This advice had its due weight, 
 and quitting the Caftle by fcealth, I 
 rode off with Le Val and Williams from 
 my own- fervants as the worft of afTailins, 
 and from my home as my grave. It 
 ■was now day-break, and we had not pro- 
 ceeded many miles, when, from the top of 
 a hill, we perceived a party apparently 
 purfuing; having the fleeter horfes, we 
 kept the advantage for near twenty miles, 
 when, by taking fome fhorter road un- 
 known to us, we faw them very near. 
 St. Vincent's Abbey appeared at the fame 
 moment in fight, which Le Val conjured 
 me to Teek, giving him my cloak to mif 
 lead the affafiins. We had no time for 
 deliberation ; I ftruck into the wood, 
 where, finding my horfe an incumbrance, 
 I left him to his fate, and was endeavour- 
 ing to make my way through zhc buihes, 
 without any certainty of. being right, 
 / when 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 149 
 
 when I had the happinefs to meet fo fair a 
 deliverer." 
 
 Lord Leicefter thus concluded his fto- 
 ry ; but oh ! how much of my life had 
 evaporated during the relation ! The un- 
 conquerable anxiety with which I follow- 
 ed him, united my heart for ever with his; 
 and convinced me, that no difparity of 
 eitherfituation or years can reftrain the ea- 
 ger fentiments of youth ieeking for merit. 
 As the only acknowledgment for his no- 
 ble franknefs, I in turn related the little 
 tale already repeated, of our melancholy 
 birth, and undecided fate. Tears, com- 
 pofed of every melting fenfation, feemed 
 to fall from my eyes on his heart. Thofe 
 fine eyes were.teeming with forne generous 
 confolation, when a fudden noife obliged 
 us to feparate, Hardly could he regain 
 the chamber, hallowed as Mrs. Marlow's, 
 ere Father Anthony joined us: the na- 
 tural aufleriiy of his air heightened by 
 fome prefent chagrin. He threw himfelf 
 into a chair, and preferved a long 
 filence; which., fear of his having pene- 
 trated into our myitery, prevented my 
 L 3 breaking. 
 
150 T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 breaking. Confufed beyond defcription,. 
 a thoufand colours chafed each ether from 
 my cheek; nor had I power to raife my 
 eyes to my fitter, who, accuftomed equally 
 to love and honour me, feemed, in hold*- 
 ing my hand, to have gained a funicient 
 protection. 
 
 "Unfortunate children! cried he, with 
 a deep figh, Heaven has at lafc completed 
 the calamitous circumftances under which 
 you were born : deftined to an imprifon- 
 ment as lading as your royal mother's, 
 you have but the melancholy advantage 
 of chufing it. Lord Scroope is dead in 
 the confinement and difgrace with which- 
 iJizabeth rewarded him: his lands, his 
 lionors, the very fpot on which you ftand, 
 all, are the property of a dillant relati- 
 on, and you now fee before you your only 
 friend — -.a feeble, helplefs friend; bending 
 daily towards that grave you alone render, 
 difpleafmg to him. The moment may yet 
 come, when the rights of your mother 
 will afcertain yours, and all I can do for 
 you in the interim, is to convey you fe- 
 rretly into France, and place you under 
 
 the 
 

 THE RECESS, &c. 151 
 
 the protection of the family of Guife ; 
 their prudence or their pride, may equally 
 induce them to fecureyou an afylum in a 
 monastery," 
 
 The terrible alternative implied in 
 thefe words, froze up my blood ; and the 
 bearings of my heart died away; — to be- 
 come an exile from England — to forget 
 Lord Leicefter— - or to be forgotten by him-- 
 to be delivered up a martyr to the family 
 of Guife ; perhaps by them tyrannically 
 buried in a cloifter, a perjured felf-con- 
 demned wretch, whofe foul was full of 
 an earthly image, while devoting itfelf to 
 ir.s Maker. — All the arguments and en- 
 treaties Father Anthony made ufe of in a 
 long harangue, were loft upon me ; I 
 knew him to be fpeaking but by the mo- 
 tion of his lips, and offered up to God, 
 in my tears, a confutation 6f all he could 
 advance. He left us not till too late for 
 another interview with Lord Leicefter; 
 3nd I paft the night in an anguifh time 
 can never erafe from my memory — pale, 
 unrefrefhed, either by fleep or drefs, I met 
 L4 my 
 
j 5 a THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 my Lord next morning, more like a 
 fpectre than myfelf. He took my hand, 
 and exprefiing his furprife but by a glance, 
 killed it in tender filence. I did not dare 
 raife my eyes- to his, and tears ftealing from 
 under their Hds, fell on the united hands. 
 Oh, how much wa^ exprerTed in the filence 
 of that moment ! I feemed to underftand 
 all I wifhed, and at length refpi red freely. 
 Ellinor, unreftrained by the tender de- 
 licacy which actuated me, declared to 
 Lord Leicefter at once the fate allotted 
 us, and her utter deteliation of it. The, 
 eagernefs with which he entered into our 
 interefts, befpoke fomething ftronger than" 
 friendship. A thoufand times he affured ' 
 Ellinor of his etieem and affection : to 
 me he faid nothing, but pre (Ting the 
 hand he ftill held, its trembling confefTed 
 it knew all the diitinction. A ray of 
 pleafure once more enlightened my four: 
 methought at that moment I could have 
 borne every evil fortune can inflict. No, 
 he will never forget me, fighed I to my- 
 felf, in whatever remote folitude I am 
 
 aarain. 
 
T H E R E C E S S, &c. 153 
 
 again loft to him; this dreary Recefs, the 
 daughters of Mary, in their fuftlc garb 
 and lowly manner, will eclipfe all the 
 glories of a court, all the gifts of Eliza- 
 beth. For the remainder of his flay, a 
 ferene delight, which neither arofe from,. 
 nor can be conveyed by language, ani- 
 mated us alike; the intercourfe of the 
 eyes and heart took place of that of the 
 tongue, and perhaps nothing was more 
 remote from our thoughts than what we 
 converfed about: till my Lord fixed my 
 attention by declaring that he would no 
 longer intrude on ourgoodnefs than till the 
 next morning. A figh accompanied thefe 
 words, and a figh was my only reply- 
 Ellinor, who ever treated him with a 
 freedom infeparable from a difintereftedr 
 regard, infilled he ought not to quit fo 
 fafe an afylum rafhly. He replied, that he 
 fhould bury himfelf with us, did he not 
 hope to rev i fit it in a more acceptable 
 manner. Breaking off at thefe words* 
 with an irrefolution and timidity which: 
 fhewed he had not faid all he intended, 
 after paufmg a few moments, he refum- 
 
i 5 4 T II E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 ed, fC Can you pardon, Ladies, a friend- 
 ihip perhaps too officious ? But fince your 
 natural fupport, and juft hopes have failed, 
 may I flatter myfclf you will have the 
 goodnefs to fufpend your resolutions re- 
 specting the future, till I can appear with 
 honour again before you ? A fhort time is 
 due to clearing my own fame; for ill- 
 would it become me to claim the guardi- 
 anfhip of the royal Mary's beauteous chil- 
 dren, while loaded with opprobrium." 
 He was proceeding when the cough of 
 Father Anthony (tarried us. Hardly had 
 Ellinor time to lead my Lord out at one 
 door, ere he entered at another to vifit' 
 Alice, who had funk under the fatigue 
 and grkf attending the lols of her mif- 
 trefs. With an art I had newly learnt, I 
 (hatched up a book, in which I affe&ed 
 to be lb buried as not to hear him till 
 at my (boulder. W-ith real perturbation' 
 I arofe on his freaking ; and, as ufual, 
 was preceding him to Alice's chamber, 
 when he called me back in hafte, and 
 pointing to the ground, bade me give 
 him what lay there. But what words can 
 
 exprefs 
 
THE RECESS, Re. 155 
 
 cxprefs the various emotions which ran 
 through my frame, when I perceived it 
 was the picture of Elizabeth, which the 
 Earl had, in retiring, fomehow or other 
 dropt! Inftead of obeying, I {hatched ic 
 up, and attempted to hide it in my bo- 
 fom; when, with a ftrong arm, the Fa- 
 ther wrefted it from me, and read in my 
 features half the myftery : the name en- 
 graved on it, the date, aii put him out of 
 doubt as to the owner, and nothing re- 
 mained but to learn how I had come by 
 it. Without the fineries of my lex on the 
 occafion, as foon as my terrors and tears 
 permitted, I related the whole adventuie 
 incoherently. With his cuftomary ftern- 
 nefs, he overwhelmed me with reproaches, 
 " Rafh. girl, cried he, could no human 
 prudence fave thee? Did not the loft 
 Saint, whom I muft ever lament, en- 
 tomb herfelf merely to preferve a fecret, 
 the folly of a baby's curiofity betrayed ere 
 her allies v/ere cold? What confidence 
 can be placed in the favourite of Elizabeth, 
 whofe inter eft it undoubtedly mull be, 
 to flatter thole in whofe hands his life- 
 no w 
 
i 5 6 THERECE'SS, &c. 
 
 now is, and then deliver them up to exalt 
 himfelf by the total filent ruin of the 
 Stuarts? prudence directs us rather to 
 fecure ourfelves by retaining him for ever 
 here." 
 
 " Firft, may I perifh on the block where 
 my father ended his days! cried I, in a 
 tranfport of love and grief: let me, oh 
 God, rather be a martyr to the fins of man- 
 kind, than fubmittopartake them! What! 
 be more cruel than the affaffins, from 
 whom we faved him ? Pardon me, Fa- 
 ther, cried 1, recovering myfelf; but you 
 know not the ftory or the heart of Lord 
 Leicefter, who, far from betraying us, 
 is anxious to become our guardian and 
 protector." 
 
 " Such a guardian as the wolf is to the 
 lamb, retorted he acrimonioufly — who, 
 oh, who would willingly have the ma- 
 nagement of youth! Unhappy child, 
 added he, wilt thou inherit the faults with 
 the features of thy mother? an idle weak- 
 ncis like thine undermined all her morals, 
 and left a (tain on her life, time never can 
 
 erafe; 
 
THE R E C E S S, - &c. 157 
 
 crafe; but if not more virtuous, be atleaft 
 more prudent." 
 
 " Hold, Father Anthony, cried I, with 
 a dignity which awed even him into fi- 
 lence, nor cancel all the merit of" your 
 cares, by a'furmife my foul difdains. Far 
 be it from me to ceniure a parent, but 
 ftill farther be it to deferve the cenfure of 
 an indifferent perfon. I may have erred, 
 but only in innocence; and the life that 
 beats within this bofom, can never ifTue 
 to a nobler purpofe, than to fave that of 
 Lord Leiceftcr." 
 
 Nothing is more dangerous than to 
 judge a generous and youthful mind 
 harinly: it then is too t-afily acquitted to 
 itfelf, and rifes againft fufpicions it is un- 
 confcious of deferving. The fhock the 
 Father's doubrs had given me, brought 
 to light, without one idea of mame, that 
 partiality I durft hardly before acknow- 
 ledge to myfelf. 
 
 Convinced by my manner, that he had 
 
 loft his influence over me, Father Anthony 
 
 •commanded Ell inor to re-conduclmyl x>rd 
 
 into 
 
.153 THE RE CESS, &c. 
 
 into his prefence, and requefted to be left 
 alone with him. I departed mod reluctant- 
 ly, but I would not entirelyexafperatehim. 
 The injustice of mankind gave me too 
 much reafon to dread left he mould 
 alFront Lord Leiceiler, who might unite 
 the innocent with the guilty, and aban- 
 don us entirely : averfions extend but 
 too frequently through families; nay, 
 even defcend from generation to gene- 
 ration. 
 
 Their conference continued two whole 
 hours, while I counted the moments in 
 painful expectation ; at laft Father An- 
 thony entered our room, and bidding 
 EHinor entertain Lord Leicefter, defired 
 me to collect my fpirits, and liften to 
 him. 
 
 " However my fufpicions may offend 
 you, young Lady, fiid he, I will fuppofe 
 it pofiible I may know as much of the 
 world, who have pafTed my youth in it, 
 as you who have yet been confined almorr. 
 to thefe walls. Well had it been if you 
 had never gone beyond them. When I tell 
 
 you 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 159 
 
 you this Lord you have faved demands 
 your hand, you will indulge a thoufand 
 romantic Tallies, and fee in his requeft a 
 love as blind as your own. Perhaps there 
 maybe fomething in that: perhaps too 
 he recollects that your mother is the next 
 in fuccefiion to the crown of England — 
 that fhe may die in prilbn, and that the 
 averfion the Englifh ever entertain to a 
 foreign fway, may prevail over the prior 
 claim of your brother James, and his 
 ambition may be gratified by a preference 
 given to you. The cruel necefiky im- 
 pofed by your unlimited confidence of at- 
 taching Lord Leicefter to your intereft, 
 makes it needlefs to enumerate the objecti- 
 pns I could reaibnably urge againft your 
 union: the recent lofs of his wife, I find, 
 puts it in his power to marry you: you 
 have left yourfelf no choice but to marry 
 him: and never will I confent to his 
 departing from this Recefs, till the con- 
 tracts <frmall dictate are folemnly figned, 
 and the marriage completed in all its 
 foixns." 
 
 " Imagine 
 
i6o THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 " Imagine, Madam, my fituation dur- 
 ing this fpeech " " Oh, Anthony, 
 
 thy dictatorial manner then was happi- 
 nefs! in one moment to emerge from the 
 abyis of defpair, and foar into the regi- 
 ons of bills: to find that the generous Lei- 
 •ccfter was willing once more to facrifice 
 his fafety for love; once more to rifque a 
 difpleafure from which he was not yet re- 
 lieved: to raife me from obfcurity — ah! 
 to raife me to himfelf ! a height, in my 
 ieftimation, beyond the throneof my ancef- 
 tors! The fond hope, fuggeited by the Fa- 
 ther's fpeech, of one day rewarding my 
 L,ord's tendernefs, v/as all I remembered of 
 it. Crowns and fceptres> thofe play-things 
 in the hands of love, furrounded me in 
 imagination, and impaffioned tears rolled 
 down my glowing cheeks, while I laid 
 to myfelf, in the language of Miranda, 
 5* I am a fool to weep at what I am glad 
 of." 
 
 Reflection and circumftances a little 
 ibftened Father Anthony, who faw him- 
 felf on the point of being relieved from 
 a heavy charge, to which his impove- 
 3 rifhed 
 
THE RECESS, k i6r 
 
 rHhed fortune, and decaying years, ren- 
 dered him unequal. The amiable Leicefler 
 joined us, and every heart being lighten- 
 ed of its load, an evening of fuch refined 
 pleafure fucceeded, that could I wifh to 
 live over one of my whole life, I fhould 
 felect that as the happieft. 
 
 The intereft, the honour of ray Lord a 
 demanded his return to Court, and Father 
 Anthony having prepared due contracts, 
 infified on my compliance. His com- 
 mands, and the willies of Lord Leicefler, 
 added to thefe weighty reafons, over-ruled 
 my fenfe of decorum, and our hands were 
 united. 
 
 The peculiarity of the fituation can 
 alone excufe fuch a marriage ; but 1 was 
 born for obedience. Scarce had the 
 tranfports of rinding myfelf happy given 
 place tu reafon, when my mother recur- 
 red to my mind. Unbleft by her matron 
 prefence, my nuptials were but half hal- 
 lowed ; nay, unbleft with her confent. 
 1 compared with grief her fate and mine: 
 
 Ygl. I. M a long 
 
162 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 a long captivity had impaired her health, 
 and no hope of a releafe to her fpirits. 
 I, although pent in a ftill narrower pri- 
 fon, beheld it enclofe almoft every hu- 
 man good, and could have confented to 
 end my days in it. 
 
 But the honour, the welfare of my Lord, 
 ordained otherwife ; every patting hour 
 gave his enemies an advantage. Our fer- 
 vant James had been fent immediately 
 on our marriage to Kenilworth Caftle, 
 which he informed us on his return was" 
 in the pofTeflion of the faithful tenants, 
 who had been able, of all the fervants, to 
 fecure only Dame Margery. This detefta- 
 ble inftrument of a fuperior's barbarity, 
 more terrified at the idea of an infamous 
 death than any due fenfe of her crime, 
 attempted to end her days with a rem- 
 nant of the poifon prepared for her Lord; 
 but being detected, it only fupplied a new 
 proof of her guilt. Tormented by fear 
 and defpair, fhe at laft found means to 
 ftrangle herfelf in the night. In her my 
 Lord loft one evidence of his innocence, 
 
 which 
 
THE RECESS, k 163 
 
 which 'made his prefence at court doubly 
 necefiary. The family of Lineric, having 
 received information of the melancholy 
 cataftrophe of both brother and fifter, from 
 the Irifh fervants, who had been their 
 abettors, had carried away the bodies, as 
 if to inter them, but kept them in the 
 hands of furgeons, Hill undetermined 
 how to proceed. 
 
 Involved in one fat's with my love, I 
 knew no peace even in his arms; but 
 with inceflant admonisions drove him. 
 from me, refufing refolutely to accompa- 
 ny him : and although his fondnefs in- 
 duced him to urge my departure, his rea~. 
 fon muft fuggell to him aB its danger.. 
 Would Elizabeth, who had uus refented 
 his marrying an equal, ever pardon his 
 afpirirtg to her blood? and how could we. 
 fufRciently guard from others a iecret my 
 very features betrayed to him? Actuated" 
 but by the fingle wifli of paffing my life 
 near Lord Leicefter, I neither afked to 
 be known, or honoured by any one but 
 himfelf, nor to be greeted by a title only 
 endeared to me, becaufe he bore it. 
 
 M 2 The 
 
164 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 The ftrong averfion with which I had 
 been taught to regard the reigning Queen, 
 might perhaps influence me in this cafe. 
 Before I gave my hand to Lord Leicefter, 
 I had made him promife never to carry 
 me to court j a promife readily given, 
 fince it perfectly accorded with his wifhes. 
 Nay in this happy union, every wifh I 
 could form ieemed to be completed j 
 I gained to that dear mother (who ne- 
 ver left my thoughts, although I could 
 neither afk her advice or confent in de- 
 ciding my fate) a powerful friend in the 
 favourite of her u'njuft rival. I hoped he 
 might yet be prevailed on to attempt her 
 freedom; and I already placed myfelf 
 at her feet, overcome with the idea of 
 having been the inftrument of her deli- 
 verance. Alas, Madam, were it not for 
 fuch vague, imaginary joys, how could we 
 exift? All our real pleaiures fall infinitely 
 fhcrt of thefe; for the preceding and fol- 
 lowing afflictions oblige our reafon too 
 often to correct them. But fancy, pow- 
 erful fancy, gains vigour from difappoint- 
 m'ent ; and an infant hope everarifcs like 
 
 the 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 165 
 
 the Phcenix from the afhes of the dying 
 one. 
 
 A week after my marriage, Lord Lei- 
 cester departed for Court, promising ibon 
 to return, and conduct me to Kenilworth, 
 where he had previously refolved I mould 
 refide with Ellinor. He depended lefs on 
 Elizabeth's partiality, than the juftice of 
 his caufe, and was far from declining a. 
 trial, in which he was fatisfied his inno- 
 cence would become confpicuous. He was 
 forry neverthelefs to convince the Queen 
 that he had wronged her confidence, only 
 to obtain the mo ft unworthy of her fex. 
 
 From his departure I date my entrance 
 into the world. I had' rather, fill this pe- 
 riod, looked on, than lived in it. 'Now I 
 began to feel its anxieties, the painful con-' 
 fequences of its tendered ties. Shall I tell 
 you all, Madam, mat paffed in my heart?' 
 Notwithstanding the proof I'had received' 
 ofamatchlefsaiicclionj could notperiuadej 
 myfelf that Lord Lcicefter would ever re- 
 turn. If the Queen, finding him once 
 more free, and taught his value by his lofs, 
 M 3 Hi ou Id 
 
166 THE RECESS, &c, 
 
 fhould at laft refolve to efpoufe him, how 
 could a poor girl, already pofleffed, and 
 left in a folitude, where even the news 
 of his infidelity could not reach her till 
 too late, how could (he weigh againft a 
 crown? Where could fhe hope for jus- 
 tice, when the Sovereign who fwears 
 to protect,, muft find it her intereft to 
 condemn her ? Overcome with this for- 
 midable phantom, I gave myfelf up for 
 ibme days to a defpair as violent, as my 
 love. This imagination was only in- 
 terrupted by another not Lsfs afnicling. 
 How, if his intereft in the Queen's heart 
 had expired in his abfence; if equally 
 offended at his difobedience and its mo- 
 tive, fhe fhouldjoin with his enemies ? 
 .His proofs appearing .lels. fatisfactory to 
 me than himfelf, I feared it was pofiible 
 he might be condemned, as a criminal, 
 when he was in reality the. devoted vic- 
 tim. 
 
 ne of thefe fuppofitions was as u-n- 
 juft to the Queen, as the other to my 
 dear Lord; and Father Anthony difpeiled 
 
 them 
 
 tim. 
 O 
 

 THE RECESS, &c. 167 
 
 them all by fome Letters he brought me. 
 I had the happinefs to find Lord Leices- 
 ter was received by the Queen with kind- 
 nefs, and that the family of Lineric, per- 
 fuaded of his innocence, would not pro- 
 voke him to make public the infamous 
 defign of his late wife, by calling him to 
 atrial; he had therefore but one cau- 
 tion to obferve, which was, to conceal this 
 new union with more care than the laft; 
 and to erTe6t this, he muft delay our meet- 
 ing for ibme little time, left his immedi- 
 ately retiring from Court mould lead the 
 curious to fearch into the caufe. 
 
 My doubts vanilhed with thefe proofs 
 of his attention. I had only now to con- 
 tend with the involuntary hatred I had 
 conceived for the Recefs. I wandered 
 through every apartment, without finding 
 reft in any : my impaffioned fancy fol- 
 lowed my love into the court, and the 
 filence and confinement I lived in, bag 
 came more and more odious. I beheld 
 with aftoniihment the compofure of my 
 filler, and enyied her a tranquillity I would 
 M 4 not 
 
i65 THE RECESS, kc. 
 
 not have regained, by being unmarried, 
 if I could. 
 
 At lad the happy hour arrived when I 
 was to quit my retirement. Lord Lei- 
 cefter had projected the mode of my 
 departure ere he left me. Le Val and 
 his valet were the only perfons in the 
 fecret. To all others, we pafied for 
 young women educated in a Convent, 
 who, not finding a call to the monaftic 
 life, came with the confent of our friends,. 
 to embelliih the retirement of Lord Lei- 
 cefter by our mufical talents. This tale 
 we were well able to fupport, for my 
 voice was a very fine one, and the fkill 
 and tafte of Mrs. Marlow, added, to 
 rj-ie tuition of a mailer, had taught 
 me to manage it properly. Ellinor had 
 not the fame advantage, but touched the 
 lilte wich a delicacy i'o exquifite, that we 
 became neceffary to each others and as I 
 never fung fo well without her accompa- 
 niment, fhe had been fo accuftomed to 
 adapt it to my voice, that ibmething 
 feemed wanting to either, when the other 
 wasfilent. Thepafiion Lord Leiceder had 
 
 for 
 
THE RECESS, Sec. 169. 
 
 for mufic, in which he was a proficient, 
 gave the ftrongeft probability to the 
 whole. He had paid a handfoine fum to> 
 accomplish, the two daughters of his (rew- 
 ard in that fcience, and the young wo- 
 men were taught to expect an addition to 
 their number. The time Le Val remain- 
 ed in the Recefs, preparing every thing 
 for our departure, was long enough for 
 him to feem employed in fetching us 
 from abroad. Lord Leiceller came fe- 
 veral times to direct all, and to iup- 
 port and cheer us with accounts of the 
 care he had taken to render the apart- 
 ments deftined to us, commodious and 
 agreeable. 
 
 The Recefs, till now, fo calm, fo tire- 
 fbmel/ tranquil, became at once full of 
 confufion and hurry; the family pictures 
 were taken from their frames, andconveyeel 
 through Father Anthony's cell, gradually 
 to Kenilwonh. 
 
 By what fcrange caprice is it, every 
 thins; feems dear to us the moment we 
 know we mud lofe it ! Involuntary tears 
 rilled my eyes when the hour of my de- 
 parture 
 
i 7 o THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 parture arrived. As much a ftranger to 
 the world as if juft born into it, how 
 could I promife to myfeif years as peaceful 
 as I had experienced in the Recefs ? Cu- 
 ftom has the art of giving charms to 
 places ; or, rather, it is the people who 
 inhabit them. It feemed to me, as if in 
 quitting the place where the duft of Mrs. 
 Marlow was interred, I quitted likewife 
 her idea : every fpot I looked on was 
 marked by fome noble fentiment, or ten- 
 der emotion of that dear lady : but I was 
 unjuft to myfeif, for I have carried in my 
 heart, through every fcene of life, her 
 refpeCbble image, and nothing but death 
 can efface it. 
 
 To part with thofe we love, is the mod 
 painful ft: retch of humanity; but what 
 can make it painful to part with thofe we 
 do not love ? Separation, like death, 
 feems to erafe ail the individual ever did 
 to difpleafe us, and leaves no remembrance 
 but of his obliging actions. We loft but 
 little in Father Anthony ; but could he 
 forget what he mufi loie in us ? His 
 
 declining 
 
THE R E C E S S, &c. 171 
 
 declining years, and ill health, required 
 the tendered attention; and furely, the 
 care he had {hewn in our education gave 
 him ajufl right to expect it from us. My 
 feelings in this were fuperiorto my fitter's, 
 for he had been the means of my happi- 
 nefs. I joined my intreaties of thofe of 
 the generous Lord Leicetter, to prevail on 
 him to rende. in a retirement at Kenil- 
 worth: but although he feemed deeply 
 affected at parting with us, he was inflex- 
 ibly bent on ending his days where thofe 
 of his fitter ended. James flill remained 
 to attend en him, and Alice was borne 
 ,very ill to the carriage which conveyed us 
 away.. 
 
 We took nothing but the ornaments 
 .from the Recefs, leaving the furniture 
 ready to accommodate any future unfor- 
 tunates, whom Father Anthony mould 
 think worthy fuch a relief. 
 
 It was the dufk of the evening ere we 
 arrived at Keniiv/orth cattle: the fte ward's 
 wife received us with her daughters. 
 Unconfcious of our fuperiority, they 
 treated us as young people, who fought, 
 
 from 
 
172 THE RECESS, kc. 
 
 from the generofity of their mafter, a 
 comfortable fubfiflence. Although I had 
 agreed to confirm this ftoiy, I felt myfelf 
 fhocked at the freedom they ufed from it. 
 I" could have fallen to them, but was af- 
 fronted at their rifing to me: A little 
 time however reconciled me. It is Lord 
 Leicefter's intereil, and (hall be my plea- 
 fure, was always my argument with my- 
 felf. Mrs. Hart, for that was the name of 
 this domeftick, expatiated on her Lord's 
 perfon, character, and magnificence; me 
 Oilicioufly pointed out the rich ornaments' 
 of the gallery apartments, and looked 
 round to us' every moment with the imper- 
 tinent expectation of feeing us filled with' 
 the low awe and furprize of people unac- 
 cu Homed to grandeur. The indifference 
 with which we regarded every thing, was 
 not a lets affront to her confequence : 
 fhe fnrunk before it, and paffed the re- • 
 mainder of the evening in a cold and, 
 haughty filence. Her daughters, not more, 
 amiable than herfelf, gloomily regarded 
 our drefles, and by whifpering, excluded , 
 us from joining in the converfation. 
 
 Such 
 
THE RECESS, k 173 
 
 Such was my introduction into the 
 family it was my right to govern. My 
 heart funk within me : I believed my- 
 felf already fallen to a iervant, and neg- 
 lected by Lord Leiceftcr. Unufed to 
 the circumfpectlon neceffary, where fe« 
 crecy is defired, I demanded to be wel- 
 comed in his arms. I furveyed the eyes 
 of my Ellinor, fearful they might re- 
 proach me for having innocently degrad- 
 ed the daughter of the Queen of Scots; 
 but that dear girl, too delicate to add 
 to my uneafinefs, preferved, apparently, 
 her gaiety, and fweetly accommodated 
 herfelf to the people with whom fortune 
 had mingled her. 
 
 The alledging fatigue and indifpofition, 
 obliged them to conduct us to the apart- 
 ment allotted us. I mould perhaps have 
 wondered at its richnefs but that I faw 
 fcarce any inferior. I was no fooner left 
 in it with Ellinor, than I gave free fcope 
 to the tears I had fcarce been able before 
 to fupprefs. My face was hid in her bo- 
 fom, when the voice of Lord Leicefter 
 recalled me to myfclf. I dried my eyes, 
 
 unwilling- 
 
174 THE RECESS, k 
 
 unwilling even tacitly to reproach him : 
 he entered through a private door, to change 
 the caufe of my grief to joy; for in his pre- 
 fence I hardly ever knew any other emo- 
 tion; and the generous anxiety with which 
 he entreated our pardon for the reception 
 difcretion had obliged him to order us, had 
 fomething in it fo graceful, fo ardent, and 
 tender, that all the pride of my heart fub- 
 fided at once, and left it full of gratitude 
 and affection. 
 
 We wifhed my filler a good night, and 
 then pafiing through a dark pafTage, the : 
 whole length of the grand gallery, came 
 into Lord Leicefter's apartments, to which 
 every place I ever faw was mean. He 
 had a noble fpirit, a fplendid fortune, 
 and an exquifite tafte. He had greatly 
 improved this ancient feat, the gift of 
 Elizabeth: its finely choien fituation, ele- 
 gant architecture, and iuperb ornaments 
 made it the model of a thoufand others. 
 The beauties divided through the reft of 
 the houfe in this apartment were united; 
 and he gave a proof of the attention infepa- 
 rable from real love, by omitting nothing 
 
 to 
 
 
T H E R E C E S S, &c. 175 
 
 to embelliih it, he had ever heard me 
 
 Icommend. Ah, Madam! thefe are the 
 mighty trifles that fo exquifitely flatter a 
 tender heart, and form its moll perfect 
 enjoyments. 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 RECESS, &c. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 "HP 
 1 HE communication between Lord 
 
 Leicefter's apartment and ours was a pro- 
 found fecret to all the fervants but Le 
 Val and Williams, my Lord's valet; in 
 whofe fidelity, after the late trial, he had' 
 the mod perfect confidence. We were, 
 to keep up the farce, prefented to Lord 
 Leiceiter the next day, who foon, by his . 
 growing diftinclion, taught Mrs. Hart 
 and her daughters to obferve a kind of 
 deference in their behaviour to us. He 
 
 ordered 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 177 
 
 tend us round the gardens and park, and 
 not to fail pointing out whatever was worth 
 obfervation ; and through what a beauti- 
 ful variety did they lead us! a world in 
 miniature! A magnificent lake prefented 
 itfelf, in whole clear bofofin the trees 
 were reflected, and round which the fheep 
 and deer grazed on rich pafture : fwans 
 and water- fowls innumerable played on 
 its furface, and an aight in the centre 
 was made highly picturefque by feveral 
 half-feen cottages, and emblems of aeri- 
 culture. The late Lady Leicester needed 
 not to have made a merit of remaining 
 within thefe walls, fince nature and art 
 could furnifh nothing lovely that was not 
 enclofed here. Several gilded, boats, and 
 lltnevefOs, danced on the bofbm of the 
 Hake, and aided, by the various ftream- 
 :ers which played upon the furface, to 
 tthe gaiety and rlchnefs of the profpect. 
 'When we turned the other way, the Go- 
 thic towers, fwell.ng baftions, gigantic 
 readies, and majeitic fweep of the build- 
 ing, made that an object fcarce I els wor- 
 thy of admiration. 
 
 Vol, I. N All 
 
*78 T H E R E C E S S, kc. 
 
 Ail our allotted employment was to 
 fing to Lord Leicefter while at dinner j 
 but as he frequently entertained the neigh- 
 bouring Nobles and Gentlemen, a cur- 
 tain of muflin was drawn over the bal- 
 cony to fcreen us from obfervation. In 
 the evening we fometimes hTned on the 
 lake : or Lord Leicefter, to indulge in 
 our company, joined in the concert we 
 formed: every day brought with it fome 
 amufement, and the reftraint we lived 
 under, kept up, even in matrimony, all 
 that delicacy, and fpirit of affection, 
 which is, by eafe of mind, too apt to 
 decay. At laft, painful neceffity obliged 
 Lord Leicefter to return to Court: he, 
 however, would not leave me with more 
 than one equal in the family, therefore di-, 
 refted that I fhould prefide one month, 
 and my fifter the next; by this method, 
 rendering it hard for tbem to fix on his 
 favorite.. We likewife, with the fteward's 
 daughters, wore one kind of habit, and 
 bufied ourfelves in the working rich ta- 
 
 peftry. 
 
 My 
 
-THE R C E E S S, &c. i 79 
 
 My own happinefs could never erafe 
 from my mind the oppofite fate of the 
 unhappy Queen who gave us birth. She 
 was then confined at a place not far diftant 
 from Kenil worth. I had already tried all my 
 intereft with Lord Leiceiter in her favour, 
 without fuccefs; and i'o juft was his no- 
 ble inflexibility, that at the moment my 
 heart was pierced by it, my reafon admi- 
 red it. " Another man, would he fay, 
 in attempting the releafe of the ill-fated 
 Mary, would only forfeit his Gbedience, 
 and endanger his life ; and were thofe all, 
 perhaps I fhould not be able to refufe my 
 Matilda. But remember, my love, to 
 thefe I mud add, the blacked treachery 
 and ingratitude: it would be,, viper- 
 jike, fringing to death the generous 
 heart that warmed me. Never employ 
 the voice of virtue to charm me to vice; 
 for what feems a duty in you, would be 
 the worft of crimes in me; and what con- 
 fidence could my wife have in my honor, 
 if I was capable of betraying a partial 
 
 N 2 I then. 
 
i8o T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 I then would urge, my only wifh was. 
 to reftore my mother's liberty, which no- 
 thing but an unparalleled breach of con-* 
 fidence could have taken from her for 
 eighteen years; obferving, her crown had 
 been lined with thorns too keen for her 
 to defire to wear it again. 
 
 " Ah, my dear Matilda ! he would 
 cry, how ignorant are you of thefe terri- 
 ble emotions, jealoufy and revenge! per- ; 
 mit me to know your mother's character 
 better than you can. She had too much 
 pride and pleaiure in reigning, to fubmit 
 tamely to this imprifonment; or even fup- 
 pofing, that tired of the evils always in- 
 separable from a Crown, fhe could ma- 
 iler her juft reientment, and feeking an 
 afylum with her children, afk only to die. 
 in peace, her relations would not fuiTer 
 it. The ambition of the houfe of Guile is 
 become a proverb; they would make ufe 
 of her name and wrongs to make the throne 
 of Elizabeth: and inftead of guarding the. 
 Queen, to whom I owed a perfect duty, . 
 I Ihould have the mifery of feeing a 
 
 ter- 
 
THE RECESS, &c 1S1 
 
 terrible war devour my country, of which 
 I was the caufe. Who knows, my dear 
 Matilda, if amidit thefe calamities 
 my temper might preferve its equa- 
 lity? I might remember, with regret, 
 :the fatal advice which had milled me, 
 and you might lament, too late, the fa- 
 crificing your own happinefs to a fallaci- 
 ous hope of reftoring your mother's — 
 [Remember Elizabeth is now declining; 
 the chances of life may bring about alL 
 you wifn. — Thetompaffion of the people 
 has been kept alive for Mary thefe feven- 
 teen years ; fhould we lofe Elizabeth, her. 
 very imprifonment would turn to her ad- 
 vantage, by fixing her in the midft of a 
 kingdom to which me is the lawful heir J 
 my fuppolition is not vague, for the ex- 
 ample of Elizabeth herfelf proves it very 
 poiiible." 
 
 What could I oppole to reafoning fo 
 >juf!:? I could only recommend the caufe 
 of my dear parent to him who can puU 
 down the mighty and exalt the weak. 
 
 N j Every 
 
i.82 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 Every letter from my Lord was filled" 
 with complaints of the tedioufnefs of the 
 Court, and breathed the very foul of love. 
 > — He often intreated me to tell him I was 
 happy, and yet when I complied, reproach- 
 ed me, through a tender caprice, for being 
 fo without him. — He required me to enu- 
 merate my hourly employments, and al- 
 though half my time was fpent in writing 
 pacquets to him, always complained of 
 the fhortnefs of my letters. He, indeed,. 
 gave me no caufe to retort ; for it appeared 
 as if he withdrew from the Court half of 
 his hours to amufe me with all the little 
 humorous incidents it continually fur- 
 nifhed. But even thefe had not always 
 the power to effect what he wiihed — 
 my fate never allowed me perfect hap- 
 pinefs, and an evil arofe in his abfence 
 which filled me with the moil terrible ap- 
 prehenfions. 
 
 My lovely fitter, who was ever my 
 pride and delight, poffeffed in a peculiar 
 degree, that amiable gaiety which leffens 
 the diftance of rank. From her firft in- 
 troduction 
 
T H E R E C E S S, &c. 183 
 
 traduction at Kenilworth, fhe had given 
 way to an increafe of ipirits, natural from, 
 iiich a change in our profpecls, little fore- 
 feeing how great a danger might arife 
 from it. — Williams had been raifed by- 
 Lord Leicefter to the fuperintendancy of 
 the family on his returning to Court. He 
 preferred this man, believing that he would 
 from knowing me his Lady, take care I 
 was treated with due refpect. Williams 
 had been a foldier, and had contracted the 
 authoritative air annexed to petty officers, 
 which made him in appearance peculiarly 
 adapted to the poft afligned him. — I muft 
 confefs he was never a favourite with me ; 
 nature had been unkind to him, and he 
 had been more unkind to himfelf, in not 
 fbftening her feverity. He was beyond 
 the meridian of life, his perfon coarfely 
 made, his complexion fwarthy, and his 
 face much fcarred* he had befides a 
 fiercenefs of mien which hardly bent even 
 to Lord Leicefter, who, of all men, moft 
 eminently pofiefled the heart of infpiring 
 as much reipeet as affection, 
 
 N 4 This 
 
i8 4 THE RECES S, &c. 
 
 This man then, madam, marked out thus 
 by nature, ventured to raife his eyes to the 
 royal, the beautiful Eilinor — the fprightli- 
 nefsof her manner abated his refpecl, and 
 he had the infolence to declare his patTion; 
 call it honourable, and folicit her return.. 
 My filler had too much understanding not 
 to feel her own fault, and too much pride 
 to fupport his infolent freedom. She left 
 him with ineffable difdain, as not worthy 
 of a reply j and came directly to me — a 
 pre-fentiment of fome evil confequence 
 arofe in my mind at the moment ihe re- 
 lated the inful t. I refolvcd to give Lord 
 Leicester immediate notice of it, that he I 
 might take his. meafures accordingly, and I 
 in the mean while appeared conilantly 
 with my filler. But we had to- manage a- 
 man equally artful and fearlefs. He had • 
 the confummate impudence to open my ' 
 letter, and (finding its fubjeft) detain if. j 
 In the mean time, no advice arriving from : 
 Lord Leicefler in anfwer to mine, we re- 
 mained on the rack of uncertainty; tor- 
 mented bv the confidence of a wretch 
 from whom there was no poflible efcape, • 
 
 and 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 185 
 
 and uncertain even of the nature or extent 
 of our danger. At lad, unable, as the wife 
 of Lord Leicefter, to endure his infuits > 
 and tired of waiting my Lord's refolution,. 
 I took an opportunity of representing to 
 him the daring boldnefs of his conduct, 
 in {peaking of love to the filter of his 
 Lord. 
 
 Without any emotion or confufion, he 
 pleaded guilty to the charge, but artfully 
 endeavoured to exculpate himfelf from 
 prefumption, by alledging the rank fix 
 which we appeared, and the fuppoikion 
 that we were raifed from obfeurity by 
 his Lord j who of courfe could only 
 ennoble me.— At this infinuation, all the 
 pride of Norfolk and Mary animated 
 my features, yet fortunately recollecting, 
 myfelf, I replied with moderation ; for 
 the villain doubtlefs aimed at difeovering 
 from whom we really fprung, fince our 
 habitation had too probably {truck him 
 as containing a consequential fecret. 
 
 I forbad him mildly ever to aiddrefs my 
 filter in that light again, without the «p- jj 
 probation of my Lord, and attempted to 
 
 retire > 
 
186 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 retire; when flopping me, he bade me re- 
 collect that T talked to one poiTeffed of 
 more authority in the houfe than myfelf > 
 that I like wife knew a fecret of the utmoft 
 importance was in his power, and he was 
 determined to make every ufe of it, in 
 cafe I did not perfuade my filler to accept 
 him ; that I muft imagine him a fool by 
 referring him to I ,ord Leicefter ; in fhort> 
 inftead of informing him, he was refolved 
 to prevent his arriving at the knowledge 
 of the affair, for which reafon he had 
 kept back all my lad letters. 
 
 How cruel, madam, was my fituation ! 
 alone, without any means of gaining pro- 
 tection from the remainder of my fervants, 
 except by declaring a fecret he knew too 
 well I would never reveal ; to be thus 
 braved, as well as infuked, was dreadful! 
 I had yet no way of eluding him, fmce the 
 whole family were under his governance, 
 and had I offered to write to Lord Lei- 
 cester through any other channel, I had 
 the greatelt reafon to fear my letters would. 
 fall into his hands. 
 
 By 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 187 
 
 By this terrible dilemma were the days 
 of the wife of Lord Leicetler embittered 
 in the midft of affluence ; in a ipot which 
 might be called the palace of pieafure. — 
 Thus htuated, I could only countera<5t 
 treachery and art by the fame. I appeared,, 
 after forne reflection, alarmed at his 
 threats, and more willing to forward his 
 views: I exacted from him an oath not to 
 betray my fecret, and on my fide folemnly 
 vowed never to mention his, but to em- 
 ploy my intereft with my filler in his fa- 
 vour : — We parted with mutual diftruil, 
 and an apparent reliance on each other's 
 flncerity. I performed one part of my 
 promife by conjuring Ellinor to deceive 
 him with falfe hopes, till Lord Leicefter's 
 return mould give me an opportunity of 
 confulting him on the fafeft way of dif- 
 pofing of the traitor. It was with much re- 
 luctance me confented, but it would have 
 been a cruelty unlike her character, to re- 
 fufe to lighten an evil fhe was the innocent 
 caufe of. I had then only to find fome 
 means of letting my Lord know it without 
 breaking my word: for once in my life I 
 
 was 
 
188 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 was guilty of duplicity, and, like Phi lac - 
 tetes, found my equivocation furnifhed a 
 terrible punifhment. I prepared a letter, 
 declaring the whole to Lord Leicester, 
 which I kept in my bofom to give to him 
 whenever he mould return ; in the mean 
 time I wrote us ufual, and delivered my 
 pacquets to Williams. The profound lilence 
 I obferved on this fubje£c, probably in- 
 fpired him with confidence, and although 
 Ellinor refufed to marry him directly, the 
 point he aimed at, the complaifance with 
 which we both treated him, lulled him. at 
 laft into a perfect fecurity. 
 
 Worn out with hourly complaints of 
 this wretch's impertinence to my lifter, 
 and my fears of the event, I counted, 
 with more than a lover's impatience^ the 
 days which mult elapfe before I could fee 
 Lord Leicefter. At length the happy 
 one-arrived which brought him, and gave 
 me at once joy and for row, for who could 
 tell me all its consequences? — Follered in 
 a Court, where he knew but one fuperior, 
 Lord Leicefter had added a perfonal 
 pride to that which naturally fprung, 
 
 from 
 
THE RECESS, &c. i8 9 
 
 from the nobility of his birth. The par- 
 tiality of his Sovereign, who difpenfed, 
 through love, with his obedience, had pre- 
 vented his learning to difguife his foibles; 
 it was the bufmeis of every one to feem 
 blind to them, by which means he had al- 
 ways been a favorite without being a 
 hypocrite. Thofe who loved him well 
 enough to allow for this error, and a va- 
 nity I can fcarce term fo, when I remem- 
 ber the various and numerous advan- 
 tages he pofTeiTed, might do any thing 
 with him. Impaffioned, generous, good- 
 natured, and noble, where once he was 
 attached, his fortune, honor, nay life, 
 would be rifked for his friend j but the 
 few who are worthy that name, too often 
 confined his affections. Lord Leicefter 
 was too exalted perhaps to be loved. But 
 I digrefs. Pardon me, Madam, when you 
 confider the caufe. This openncfs of 
 heart gave me jufl reafon to apprehend 
 a guilty mind would read the indignant 
 eye of my love, and induced me to fup- 
 prefs, for feme days, the intended difclo- 
 
 fure 
 
i 9 o THE RECESS, kc. 
 
 fure. My precaution fucceeded ; Willi- 
 ams knew the character of his Lord, and 
 finding by the freedom and confidence he 
 ftill teftified, that I was true, began to rely 
 on my word. A journey on which he was 
 accidentally fent, affifted rne highly, in 
 leaving tune for my Lord to cool. I laid 
 the letter on his table one evening before 
 I went to bed: Lord Leicefter, who was in 
 another room, came in after me, but had 
 not half read it when he frightened me by 
 his rage and indignation. Had the man 
 been in the houfe I know not how the 
 matter would have ended, but at length 
 my tears and diftrefs foftened him j he 
 pafied two days after in a thoughtful man- 
 ner] I knew not, nor ventured to nik 
 him his refolutions: at the end of that 
 time he regained his temper and compo- 
 fure ; he law the apprehenfions lurking 
 ftill in my heart, and bade me take cou- 
 rage, for he had found a way to quiet 
 them for ever. I conjured him at 
 lead to conceal with caution his confei- 
 •oufnefs of the affair,, which he promifed, 
 
 and 
 
THE RECESS, kc. 191 
 
 and in a great degree performed •, but whe- 
 ther it was that knowing he was apprized 
 of it made me fancy his manner would 
 reveal it, I cannot fay; certain it is, I 
 never law him look at or fpeak to this 
 man afterwards, without feeling my heart 
 fink within me. 
 
 Sir Francis Drake, at this time, formed 
 all the converfation of England ; he had 
 fitted out a large fleet again ft the Spani- 
 ards, with which he was ready to faiL 
 from Plymouth. Many noblemen, and 
 others, engaged as volunteers, and an in- 
 finite number of people afiembled from 
 all parts to view the fleet. Lord Leicef- 
 ter, who had always been a ftrong friend 
 to Sir Francis, fet out tQ take leave of 
 him, and enlarged the train of domeftics 
 he ufually travelled with, for the fake of 
 appearing honorably among numbers who 
 did not know him. So ardent was the 
 defire of all ranks of people to partake 
 the fight, that not a fingle male fervant 
 willingly flaid behind. — Williams had fo 
 great a relifh for thefe expeditions, that 
 he afked my Lord to take him 3 Le Val's 
 3 ficknefs 
 
1^2 THE RECESS, & c . 
 
 ftcknefs keeping him at Kenilworth, Lord 
 Leicefter complied. A fortnight elapfed 
 before they returned, during which poor 
 eld Alice expired: with her died one of 
 the witneffes of my marriage: Father An- 
 thony was dill in good health, as James, 
 who regularly came once amonth,brought 
 word. 
 
 Lord Leicefter returned, and returned 
 without Williams. — Struck to the heart, 
 I had fcarce ftrength to enquire what was 
 become of him. My Lord afked me if I 
 fufpected him of having murdered the 
 rofue ? lf I have only fent him, added 
 he, with a gay air, a long voyage, to teach 
 him to keep a iecret, I knew no other 
 vav of getting rid of the rafcal. Sir Fran- 
 cis has undertaken to provide for him too 
 effectually for my dear Matilda to know 
 anv further anxiety on his account : in 
 ihort, he is (hut up in a diftant part of the 
 Veffel, the failors are taught to confider 
 him as a madman, and have neither time 
 to liften to his tales, nor fenfe to under- 
 
 fland them. Thus, my dear love, our 
 
 fears are entirely over." 
 
 " Rathe* 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 193 
 
 iC Rather begun," I might have replied, 
 for no rhetoric ever after charmed mine 
 to reft. — A thoufand accidents ruin our 
 tranquillity, but it is better to endure 
 their word: confequences, than return evil 
 for evil. However neceffary the ftep, 
 the afifumino; a rJ£&t to fentence this man, 
 was too culpable in my eyes, not to 
 make me uneafy -, yet, fince it certainly 
 was to relieve me, that Lord Leicefler ex- 
 ecuted the fcheme, and becaufe nothing- 
 could now recall it, I Teemed fatisfied: 
 1 Ellinor too perfuaded me to be To, from 
 1 thinking the traitor juftly punifhed. 
 
 Before Lord Leicefter returned to' 
 '■■Court, I gained his confent to a pro- 
 ject I had long revolved; this was, to 
 •vifit my mother — to have the joy of 
 ■! being held in her arms, and to be ac- 
 knowledged by her bleffing. — He was 
 1 too. anxious to indulge all my wifhes, 
 to refufe me in this inftance; but, nGt 
 being able to further it openly, he only 
 gave me a fufrkient fum of money to 
 Vol, I. O bribe 
 
194- T H E R E C E S S, &c, 
 
 bribe her keepers, and directed Le Val to 
 attend us. 
 
 This man proved as faithful as Williams 
 was the reverfe--— if at firft he refpecled me 
 but as the wife of his mailer, I afterwards 
 gained an afcendant with him from my 
 own conduct, which attached him to meas 
 much as to his Lord, and made the molt 
 effential fervices feem trifles in his eyes. 
 Eager to oblige and obey, he feemed 
 always ready to fly before he knew whi- 
 ther, and a word of commendation was 
 a fufBcient recompence. He was now in 
 the poll of Williams, who was fuppofed 
 to have voluntarily embarked with Sir 
 Francis, and the fecret of his fate re- 
 mained with Lord Leiceiler, my filler, 
 and myfelf. 
 
 Attended by Le Val, we fet out for 
 Coventry with beating hearts. We were 
 to vifit, not merely a mother, but an 
 only parent, the fole perfon in whole 
 arms we could claim a refuge ; though 
 now, alas, far more able vainly to offer 
 her one. We were to fee that Queen, 
 whofe matchlefs beauty was her leafl ad- 
 vantage ; 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 195 
 
 vantage ; to behold her graces withered 
 by eighteen years confinement ; to fliare 
 in her afflictions, and prove how dearly 
 the children, who had never known her, 
 could love their mother. 
 
 But, alas ! Madam, we were not per- 
 mitted to realize thefe vifions. — Le Val 
 found her keepers too honed, or too fearful 
 to fufferany ftrangerto converfewith her, 
 and the only privilege money could pur- 
 chafe, was that of feeing the Queen, 
 through a grated window, take her morn- 
 ing walk in a fmall garden. Overwhelmed 
 with defpair at this news, we yet em- 
 braced the only indulgence we could pur- 
 chafe. — But what did we not think that 
 faithlefs woman deferved, who thus treated 
 her equal, her relation, her friend! We 
 were conducted to the window, where we 
 were permitted to remain without attend- 
 ants ; we faw her come down the walk— 
 but oh, how changed, and yet how lovely! 
 Damp rooms had weakened her limbs — 
 her charming arms were thrown round 
 the necks of two maids, without whofe 
 affiftance flie could not move a pale 
 O 2 refig- 
 
196 T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 refignation fat on her Hill beautiful fea- 
 tures: her regal mien could not be eclipfed 
 by a habit of plain purple, nor her fine 
 hair by the veil which touched her fore- 
 head. Her beads and crofs were her 
 
 only ornaments, but her unaffected pi- 
 ety, and patient fufferance, mingled the 
 Saint with the Queen, and gave her 
 charms beyond humanity. Our emoti- 
 ons were too rapid and ftrong for defcrip- 
 tion; we wept we incoherently ex- 
 claimed — and finking ourfelves eagerly 
 againfl the bars, feemed to hope fome 
 fupernatural flrength would break them. 
 More afflicted at feeing her thus, than 
 not feeing her at all, I neither could be- 
 hold her for my tears, or refolve to lofe a 
 look by indulging in them. — She drew 
 near the fpot where we flood, when our 
 hands,which we had thrufl,in fupplication, 
 through the bars, caught her attention — 
 She raifed her fine eyes, with their ufual 
 
 divine compofure, to the window; 1 
 
 would have fpoken, burmy lips denied all 
 utterance. Alas ! that bleffed — that be- 
 nign ant glance, was the firft, the laft, the 
 
 only 
 
THE RECESS, fc. 197 
 
 only one we ever received from a mo- 
 ther. — When (he -withdrew her eyes, fhe 
 carried my very foul with her; all my 
 ftrength failed at once, and I funk in a 
 fwoon in my fitter's arms. 
 
 •F ?F $F" <& 7& «* 
 
 Sufpicions of this nature made it dan- 
 gerous for my Lord, were we frequently to 
 appear there; yet this momentary view 
 had awakened fenfations, which, though 
 lefs ftrong than love, were equally kit- 
 ing, and which empoifoned my hours in 
 the bofom of happinefs. Bitter tears upon 
 the cheeks of my Leicester, when with 
 fond endearment he would ftrain me to 
 his heart, alone fpoke my thoughts, and 
 I facrificed the lefs to the greater duty — 
 Ellinor, my dear Ellinor, ~was, on this 
 theme, my only counfellor, and we fpent 
 days in forming a thoufand ^rojecls ; 
 weeping every evening at discovering 
 their impracticability. The frequent ab- 
 fences of my Lord, left me too much 
 leifure for this melancholy employment; 
 O 3 yet 
 
i 9 S THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 yet the ardor of his pafllon made him 
 chufe every opportunity, however fhort, 
 to be with me, and I trembled left thefe 
 inceffant journies fhould attract the no- 
 tice of Elizabeth, who had been for fome 
 time indifpofed, and ofconrfe more alive 
 to any inattention of her favorite. But 
 Lord Leicefter had not been ufed to con- 
 r.roul, and fometimes imputed hints to in- 
 difference which arofe from the moil ge- 
 nerous motives, for my life was without 
 any enjoyment in his abfence, but the 
 hope of feeing him again. When he was 
 away, I wandered wearily through every 
 room, and faw only a magnificent foli- 
 tude: bur, whenever he appeared, joy 
 and mufic animated the whole family j, 
 every apartment fecmed to have found 
 its gueft, and every fervant the happy 
 iubjecl: of his duty. 
 
 To excufe his frequent abfences to the 
 Queen, my Lord avowed a pafllon for hunt- 
 ing, with which his conduct fo little agreed, 
 that he fhut himfelf up in Kenilworth Caftlei 
 and feldom paffed beyond his own walls. 
 Confcious that this mult in time be ob-- 
 
 ferved, 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 129 
 
 ferved, wc learnt to ride expertly, and often 
 obliged him to accompany us in mere pre- 
 prudence. To prevent our being too much 
 fatigued, my Lord generally ordered a tent 
 to be pitched, with refrefhments, in the fo- 
 reft; and one morning, finding myfelf ill, 
 Iquitted the chace almolt directly, and 
 went in fearch of our refting place, guided 
 by a huntfman, as ignorant of it as my- 
 felf. Among the clofeft and moft in- 
 tricate paths we encountered a gentleman 
 on horieback, attended by many fer- 
 vants ; to make way for us, he ordered 
 his fervants to return, and difmounting, 
 bowed, and remained uncovered while 
 we paffed. — Addrefling the man who 
 attended us, he eagerly enquired for my 
 Lord— -the queilion, I knew not why, 
 alarmed mej I turned inftantly to ex- 
 amine his features, and my horfe conti- 
 nuing his pace, ftruckmy head againft an 
 arm of a tree with fo much violence, that 
 the reigns dropt from my hand, and the 
 ftranger was juft quick enough to catch 
 me. I fainted : one of his train opened a 
 O 4 Vein 
 
200 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 vein in my arm, which inftantly revived 
 me, and I found myfelf in the Granger's. 
 arms, who prefTed, with more than com- 
 mon concern, the hand he held. Con- 
 fufed and perplexed with this accident, I 
 endeavoured in vain to withdraw it, and 
 feeing my hair had fallen in its ufaal curls 
 over my neck, looked about for my hat, 
 which yet hung on the bough that ftruck 
 me. Regardlefs of every in treaty, I per- 
 illed in mounting my horfe, and return- 
 ing inftantly, after I had rendered him 
 every acknowledgment his active polite- 
 nefs merited* He replied with fuch pecu^ 
 liar grace and galiantrv, as gave me a 
 great defire to know his name, but his 
 profound attention, rendered it impoiTi- 
 ble for fame time: after which the huntf- 
 man informed me he was the nephew of 
 Lord Leicefter, Sir Philip Sydney. Kis. 
 appearance confirmed the agreeable i:u- 
 preffion made by his character, and I only 
 regretted being introduced to him by a 
 vexatious accident which feemed too much 
 to pofiefs his mind.. EngroiTed by thefe 
 
 re- 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 201 
 
 rerte&ior.s, although I by down, it was 
 impoffible to clofe my eyes, when the 
 abrupt entrance of my Lord roufed me 
 completely. Extreme vexation and dif- 
 order marked his air, and without the. 
 leaft enquiry into my hurts, he threw him- 
 felf into a chair by me, lamenting 
 the malice of his fortune. Alarmed 
 beyond meafure, I ftarted from the bed, 
 and kneeling at his feet, conjured him 
 to tell me in what new inilance he had 
 reafon to complain. — <: Matilda, laid he, 
 fixhg his eyes on me with a lad intent- 
 ncfs, the Queen approaches. — My heart 
 died within me at the words ; his fup- 
 porting arms alone faved me from falling 
 to the ground, and his careffes from faint- 
 ing. 
 
 <c I know her well, continued he, and 
 have every reafon to fear we are betrayed. 
 The fubtilty of approaching without an 
 exprefs, convinces me that (he fufpecls at 
 lead fome charm in Kenilworth I dare not 
 avow. I had always purpofed, in com- 
 pliance alike with my promife and my 
 
 fafety-ji 
 
2©2 THE RECESS, k 
 
 fafety, to convey you to the Recefs in cafe 
 this event happened ; but now I fear the 
 appearance it will have, alike to my own 
 fervants and Sydney's companions, who 
 are all of the Queen's train, and but too 
 much (truck with your beauty.— -One ex- 
 pedient alone remains — tell me, my love, 
 may your Leicefter hope to triumph over 
 your becoming pride, your juft refent- 
 ment ? — Will you condefcend to appear 
 before Elizabeth in the fame humble 
 light in which you have hitherto ap- 
 peared ; and, forgetting awhile (he has 
 been the perfecutor of your family, will 
 you confider her only as the patronefs of 
 your hu(band ?" 
 
 U I will forget every thing, cried I, in 
 a tranfport of tendernefs, which interferes 
 with your fafety and fatisfaclion : too hap* 
 py in having fomething to facrifice in 
 proof of my love, I will be whatever 
 you wifh— -as the daughter of Mary, my 
 foul rife? againft Elizabeth ; but, as the 
 wife of Leicefter, I ought to know no 
 jpleafure except Jiisj nor have I had, till 
 
 this 
 
THE RECESS, k 203 
 
 this alarming moment, a merit in fub- 
 mifiion." 
 
 " What are the ties of marriage, faid 
 my Lord, (the tears mingling on our 
 cheeks) tothefe invifible ligaments of the 
 foul ! I can fo little bear to be furpsfTed 
 in generofity, that I can hardly refrain 
 from leading you to the Queen as her 
 hoftefs, and charming the court with the 
 fight of a wife, who is my fole pride and 
 everlafting pleafure." 
 
 Precious, ineftimable moment of my 
 life, when the warmth of my heart was 
 fo fully difplayed, {o glorioufiy anfwered! 
 — Ah, Madam, Lord Leicefter had the 
 rare fecret of governing a generous mind. 
 
 The fame confiderations prevailed on 
 Ellinor to give the fame con lent, and the 
 fhort hour previous to the Queen's arrival 
 was fpent by us in fchooling our eyes and 
 hearts, left the fpirit of the injured and 
 pride of the noble mould betray all. — 
 Apprehenfive too, left the fimilittide my. 
 features bore to thofe of my unfortunate 
 mother, might ftrike fome idle obfcrver, 
 
 Ide- 
 
204 THE R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 I departed from her mode of drefs, and' 
 letting my hair curl more over my fnce 
 and neck, enwreathed it fancifully with 
 flowers : then mixing; with the villagers in 
 habits refembling theirs, we waited to 
 nfher the Qneen into the great hall, by 
 ftrewing that and the inner court with 
 aromatic herbs. 
 
 The amazing hurry produced by this 
 unexpected vifit, had not fubfided, when 
 the cannon proclaimed the approach of 
 Elizabeth. A faint ficknefs came over 
 me -, my limbs were fcarce able to fup- 
 port my weight, and my eyes hardly 
 ferved to guide my fleps. My nature 
 fhuddered at her, and the fpirit of Nor- 
 folk trembled proudly within me. Mod 
 fortunately confounded with the gay ca- 
 valcade, I foon had performed my talk, 
 and retired without once fixing my eyes 
 en her face. I firuggled much with my- 
 feif,?.nd regained a tolerable fnare of com- 
 pofure ere her dinner was ferved, at which 
 we were, as ufual, to fing. Concealed 
 from the public gaze, I had now an op- 
 portunity 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 205 
 
 portunity of examining the Queen. She 
 was talking to my Lord, who waited be- 
 hind her chair. Though the features of 
 Elizabeth retained nothing of her mo- 
 ther's fweetnefs, they were regular j her 
 eyes were remarkably fmall, but fo clear 
 and quick, that they feemed to comprehend 
 every thing with a fingle glance ; the de- 
 fect in her ihape taking off all real Ma- 
 jefty, fhe fupplied that deficiency by an 
 extreme haughtinefs; a ievere, fatirical 
 fmile marked her countenance, and an 
 abfurd gaiety her drefs. I could not 
 but fuppofe foreigners would imagine 
 that Queen owed much of her reputation 
 to her counfellors, who could difgrace 
 her venerable years by a bare neck, and 
 a falfe head of hair made in the rnoft 
 youthful fafhion. Yet, under other cir- 
 cumftances, the fcene would have been 
 charming. The hall enriched and adorn- 
 ed with fine frames, tapeftry, and purple 
 fringed with gold, the high arched 
 Gothick windows, which being thrown 
 open, gave a beautiful view of the lake, 
 covered with newly ornamented boats, 
 (truck the Queen with admiration ■, while 
 
 the 
 
2o6 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 the immenfe croud of royal attendant", 
 and above all, the profound refpecl: of ma- 
 ny of the nobles, were fights no lefs new to 
 me. I turned my eyes round to difcover 
 if among them I could find any to com- 
 pare with Lord Leicefler. Where, ah 
 where, could they felect his equa]! 
 Stifled anxiety gave a redoubled glow to 
 his cheek, and his expreftive eyes pierced 
 through the veil which hid us from all 
 others. Dinner removed, the mufic be- 
 gan. The ufual pieces played, a filence 
 enfued only interrupted by my voice and 
 the lute of my filler. Amazement feemed 
 to transfix every beholder, and all eyes 
 purfued the bent of Lord Leicefler's.— 
 The Queen dropt a peach fhe was paring, 
 and 'peaking with warmth to Sydney, he 
 replied with an air fo enlivened as fhewed 
 his heart was in the fubjecl:. Scarce had 
 I reached the conclufion of the air, when 
 the curtain was drawn afide, by the offi- 
 cious Sydney, and we flood expofed to 
 the view of the whole court. Over- 
 whelmed with a thoufand fenfations, I 
 idropt the book I fung from., and EHino.r 
 
 bent 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 207 
 
 bentoverher lute with a beauitful modefty. 
 The various exclamations of the noble- 
 men might have flattered our vanity, had 
 we not been continually told any thing 
 can make, to courtiers, the wonder of an 
 hour. That fatal moment was fure the 
 critical one of my life ; it awakened dan- 
 gerous fufpicions in the foul of Elizabeth: 
 endlefs anxiety in the man in whom my 
 life was bound up, and a paffion in the 
 heart of another, the cold hand of death 
 alone could extinguifh. I mean the ami- 
 able Sydney : charmed at finding in the 
 perfon who charmed the whole court, 
 thofe features indelibly imprelTed on his 
 memory, he delivered himfelf entirely up 
 to his predilection with a generous 
 warmth. 
 
 The moment 1 could recollect myfelf, 
 I confidered the Queen attentively ; fhe 
 fat in the penfive pofition into which our 
 appearance had thrown her; fometimes 
 purveying us with deep obfervation, then^ 
 with a keener glance, Lord Leicefter. I 
 laboured to fupport the painful examina- 
 tion with compofure, but the care de- 
 feated 
 
2o3 THE RECESS, &c 
 
 feated itfelf, and involuntary blufhes co- 
 vered my face, whenever I became the 
 object of her attention. The indifference 
 the Queen expreffed towards the mufic, 
 obliged every one elfe to be filent on the 
 fubjecl, and we foon obtained permiffion 
 to retire. Sydney, who was the mefTen- 
 ger, overwhelmed us with apologies for 
 the fhare he had in our confulion, although 
 by the command of his fovereign. I 
 -had perpetual reafon for relenting his 
 -ofncioufnefs, but Sydney was not born to 
 ; be hated. To exalted generofi ty, and 
 the moft manly courage, he joined ele- 
 gance, refinement, and a temper fuperior 
 :to events. Yes, gallant Sydney, this no- 
 bble juftice Matilda owes thy virtues ! — of 
 all her misfortunes, that of becoming 
 
 thine touched her moft deeply. Our 
 
 apparent ftate of dependence never once 
 induced Sir Philip to forfeit that refpecl: a 
 man of merit owes to himfelfj— it only 
 united to the politenefs univerfally due to 
 the fex, an arTefting deference which dig- % 
 nified its object. A hufband lefs adored 
 than Lord Leicefter, might with reafon 
 j ,-havfi 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 209 
 
 have dreaded fuch a rival Midnight 
 
 alone gave us the freedom of comparing 
 opinions, and I faw with unfpeakable re- 
 gret, the peace of my Lord deftroyed during 
 this vifit. A depreflion, he could hardly 
 account for, filled up the intervals we 
 piaffed together; and inftead of employ- 
 ing them in forming any realbnable plan, 
 nothing remained of all our mutual ten- 
 dernefs but filence, fighs, and tears. 
 
 Elizabeth, in defiance of time and un- 
 derstanding, indulged a romantic tafte 
 inconfiftent with either.; and, not fatis- 
 fied wii.h real pre-eminence, affected to 
 -be deified by the flattery of verfe. The 
 Lady of the Lake was the title fhe chofe 
 to be known by here, and nothing art 
 could invent, or wealth procure, was 
 wanting to render the various pageants 
 complete. A boat fcooped like a fheil, 
 and enclosing a throne, conveyed her to 
 the aight, where I and many more, ha- 
 bited like Nereids, waited to receive her, 
 and ufhering her- to a grotto inlaid with 
 ihelis and lookifig-glafs, we preferred her, 
 'Vol.. I. P • in 
 
210 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 in bafkets made of Tea weed, pearl, coral, 
 amber, and every jewel of the water; 
 while the place refounded with panegy- 
 rics fo labored and mifapplied, that it 
 was with difficulty we forebore fmiling at 
 the gravity with which fhe liftened to 
 them. 
 
 I found, with furprife, that Lord Leice- 
 ster feared the eyes of every indifferent 
 Spectator would penetrate through a my- 
 stery, Elizabeth only had an intereft in de- 
 veloping. It is the common weaknefs of 
 humanity to bend the attention folely to 
 minute objects, while the leading ones 
 
 come upon us totally unawares. 1, on 
 
 the contrary, fancied myfelf every mo- 
 ment Surveyed with a harfh air by an in- 
 flexible imperial rival.-— Every lady of the 
 court, under the pretext of feeking our 
 intimacy, continually founded Ellinor 
 and myfelf on our real condition, and the 
 timid incoherent manner in which we an- 
 iwered, gave me the moit mortal fears of 
 
 their employer. Abject Slaves to the 
 
 Queen's amufementj fhe kept us conti 
 
 ." nuall 
 
 
THE RECESS, &c. i\i 
 
 nually in her fight, and without deigning 
 to open her own lips, feemed to tempt us 
 to complain by eternal whims. In thole 
 moments, love, fhame, and apprehen- 
 fion, Ipoke a language intelligible in all 
 i countries in the features of Lord Leices- 
 ter; and Elizabeth, having doubtlefs af- 
 
 I lured herfelf, by thefe artifices, that there 
 mull be Something to reveal, left her 
 
 \ train at one end of the gallery, and re- 
 ? tiring to the other with my Lord, inter- 
 rogated him, as I inilantly conjectured. 
 • — The fate of my mother now arofe more 
 jflrongly to my mind. lf Ah! why, thought 
 I], did I leave the happy folitude in which 
 fhe placed me, only to ruin the objecl of 
 brfiy affections, and deliver my ("elf up to 
 an inexorable tyrant, who can wreak her 
 • malice without even being fufpecled !" 
 'While thus loft to the furrounding crowd, 
 
 II obferved my Lord reply to her eager 
 kmefiions with heiitation and anxiety; as 
 
 he talked, he fixed his eyes on me with 
 
 [the u'neafy air of a perfon who wilhes to 
 
 ■ey through them what he is hopelefs 
 
 P 2 Of 
 
2i2 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 of making you comprehend any other 
 way. I refolved to prevent an error 011 
 my part, by a timely retreat; when fud- 
 denly fpeaking aloud, Lord Leicefter ad- 
 vanced towards us: --- <{ Mark well all I fay," 
 faid he, in a whifper, leading me and my 
 filler to the feat of the Queen,-—" 1 fhall 
 morefurprifethefe children, faid he, with 
 the knowledge of their origin than your 
 Majefty— -it is needlefs to give them the 
 realbns I .have laid before you for this 
 fecrecy ; it muft be fufficient honor and 
 pleafure for them to find themfelves 
 daughters of the houfe of Dudley, and 
 objects of their Sovereign's gracious pa- 
 tronage." Seeing him bend his knee, 
 ours, ilubborn and reluctant as they were, 
 gave way, and we kiffed the fatal hand fhe 
 majeftically tendered. Informing us that 
 me added us to her train of maids of ho- 
 nor, me bade us be ready to let out with 
 her on the morrow towards London.- — 
 Lord Leicefter, charmed with havingelud- 
 ed all her fufpicions, dreamt not of the 
 fnare he had wound round his own heart 
 in yielding us up to Elizabeth, whofe con- 
 
 fummate 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 213 
 
 ftimmate art had induced her to give appa- 
 rent credit to a mod improbable fiction, 
 merely to place us beyond his reach, which 
 fhe could no other way have effected. 
 
 The hour of reft enabled him to open 
 all his heart. 1 underflood that Eliza- 
 beth had addreiTed him in fo decifive a 
 manner on the conviction of our being 
 born above our prefent rank, that he 
 could not hope to lave us from the molt 
 menial degradations but by a falfe confi- 
 dence; Heaven had fuddenly infpired him 
 with the idea of a poflibility, that his bro- 
 ther, the Lord Guilford, might have mar- 
 ried Lady Jane Grey, a twelvemonth ere 
 the two politic Dukes of Suffolk and 
 Northumberland thought it prudent to 
 appear leagued: during which time, he 
 declared the unfortunate Lady Jane gave 
 birth to us both : the fame policy had in- 
 duced them to'conceal this event till the 
 Suffolk family mould be eftablifhed on the 
 throne, and that hope .being for ever de- 
 feated, prudence itil! buried us in oblivion; 
 —finally, that the fecret refted now only 
 in his own bofom, from whence his at- 
 P 1 tachment 
 
2i 4 THE RECESS, kc. 
 
 tachmentto Elizabeth would never fufTer 
 it to traiifpire, and that if the Queen Hill 
 wifhed to patronize us, he thought it 
 would be prudent to let us imagine our- 
 felves his own illegitimate daughters. — 
 To all this Elizabeth replied little, but 
 fuffering him to fettle it his own way, 
 perfifted only in taking us from him. 
 
 Her mode of conduit convinced me at 
 once that (lie utterly difcredited the whole 
 of this fiction ; which placed us, by ano- 
 ther branch, almoft as near to the throne 
 as we really flood. Would not a jealous,, 
 felfifh foul, like hers, have demanded 
 dates, facts, teftimonials and w.itnefTes ? 
 "Would fhe not have made us undergo the 
 fate. of Lady Catherine, the legal heir of 
 the houfe of Suffolk, whom, by a bar- 
 barous, unfeminine ufe of power, fhe had 
 torn from the moil: near and facred of 
 human tyes, and condemned, even in the 
 bloom of youth, to a folitary life of im- 
 prifonment, only for having dared to be- 
 come a wife and mother ?— Would not, 
 in a word, all the fury of her temper have, 
 
 blazed •. 
 
THE RECESS, &c, 215 
 
 blazed forth, but that fhe meditated a 
 more fafe and filent ruin ? 
 
 Unwilling to add to the anguifh of this 
 moment by one furmife, I threw myfelf 
 into his arms, and filent, fpeechlefs, {train- 
 ed him to my heart — fupplicating, men- 
 tally, that God who alone could protect 
 us. No language could have affected 
 Lord Leicefter like this conduct.— He 
 accufed himfelf of having meanly con- 
 fidered his own fafety; and we were ob- 
 liged repeatedly to allure him, that we 
 thought he had acted with the moft -con- 
 fummate judgment, ere we could recon- 
 cile him to himfelf. ff Surely Matilda 
 thinks me a fufficient fufferer, cried he, 
 in loling the charm of her fociety ? — Can 
 I have forgotten, that I dare no longer 
 indulge even my eyes with her beauty? 
 — Can 1 have forgotten that all other men 
 may freely adore her, and that her happi- 
 nefs is not more in the power of Elizabeth 
 than mine is in hers? — Did I not know 
 that the Queen would willingly punifh 
 her whole race with the celibacy me im- 
 pofes on herfelf, 3 fhould doubt her pro- 
 P 4 te&ing 
 
216 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 testing the pretentions of Sydney ; but flic 
 dreads too much multiplying claims to 
 the crown, and I alone fhall be perfe- 
 cuted with his parTion— Pity my fituati- 
 on, added he, and by an uniform cold- 
 nefs, dafh his prefumptuous hopes. — — 
 How do I lament the fate which in- 
 volves the fair Eliinor'in calamities the 
 fame motives cannot reconcile her to! but 
 fince her choice and affections led her into- 
 the world, I rely upon her generous foul 
 to fupport its evils with prudence and 
 patience.-— This will be our lad con- 
 verfation for fome time—one only cau- 
 tion let me recommend to you both-— 
 make no confidants, cultivate the friend- 
 fhip of Lady Pembroke, and never for- 
 get that you constantly act under the eye 
 of a haughty, jealous, and revengeful 
 Sovereign." 
 
 Needlefs admonition! Could a daugh- 
 ter of die Stuart line ceafe to dread and 
 hate Elizabeth ?— Could a wife too, who 
 faw the life of the man fhe loved depended 
 on her prudence, for one moment dare to 
 fhew flie did lb ? 
 
 Con- 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 217 
 
 Condemned to mingle with the world, 
 I entered it with prefages fa melancholy 
 as (hewed my future fortune.— -Without 
 daring to teftify my grief even by a look, 
 I departed from that hofpitable inanfion 
 in which I had vainly promifed myfelf 
 long years of unfpeakable happinefs.-— L 
 departed v/inhout my Lord, and in fo do- 
 ing experienced every mifery of love and 
 i dependance. Ah! how weak are thole 
 wretches who look up to us with wonder, 
 cried I mentally, as we pa(Ted through 
 every town, did ye know the breaking 
 heart this fplendid garb covers ! — did ye 
 feel the galling chain which writhes round 
 1 it, and deepens my cheek with deftructive 
 beauty, how would you blefs the graci- 
 i ous God who gives you peace and igno- 
 rance ! 
 
 Received, acknowledged, and admired, 
 we foon became familiar appendages 
 to Elizabeth ; nor had any hopes of fee- 
 ing our bondage end but with her life. 
 It was not the lead of my evils that I in- 
 volved my Ellinor in this calamity, which 
 love of me could alone render iupporta- 
 
 ble. 
 
218 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 ble. By a caprice for which there is no 
 accounting, Elizabeth, whofe eyes were 
 ever watchful, and heart fufpicious, bent 
 both for ever on Ellinor ; who endured 
 from her, with Silent indignation, a thou- 
 fand paflionate extravagancies. Contrary 
 to Lord Leicester's idea, I plainly per- 
 ceived thatiheencouraged every pretender 
 to either, obvioudy to develope the my- 
 ftery She eafily difcerned through his falfe 
 confidence. — Tortured with the paflion of 
 Sir Philip, I found all my rigor could not 
 extinguifh hopes the Queen patronized, 
 while Lord Leicester's confidence feemed 
 to contract, in proportion as it became 
 difficult for me to partake it. 
 
 The fair Pembroke attached herfelf 
 particularly to Ellinor, and Rofe Cecil, 
 Lord Burleigh's fecond daughter, profei- 
 fed an unbounded friendship for me. I had 
 fo great a deference to the command of 
 my Lord, as to withhold mine, till time 
 convinced me too feelingly, that She was 
 incapable of abufing it. She was almoSt 
 a Stranger at Court as well as ourfelves, 
 
 and 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 279 
 
 and brought up under a mother who ab- 
 horred it ; the death of that mother leav- 
 ing her to the care of an ambitious father, 
 he flattered himfelf that her beauty would 
 win her a hufoand of merit, ere fhc had 
 gained courage to affert her own choice. 
 He was not iniftaken in the firft opinion: 
 the tender bloom both of her mind and per- 
 ion, attached to her a thoufand hearts, but 
 though in all other inftances compliance 
 itfelf, in the article of marriage, fhe re- 
 fined to obey even the Queen, who con- 
 fequently hated her. This fad confor- 
 mity of fituation, both were at libetty 
 alike to lament, and with the czndor in- 
 cident to youth, I tound it difficult to 
 limit my lamentations. Our fituations 
 and tempers made us alike cultivate an 
 attachment with Lady Arundell, Sir Phi- 
 lip's eldeft -fifter, who had long fince re- 
 tired to a feat of his on the banks of the 
 Thames, upon the imprifonment of her 
 ■Lord. With lefs mining qualifications 
 than her more fair and fortunate lifter, 
 Lady Arundell pofTefTed a Roman ftrength 
 of foul. Beloved from childhood by- 
 Eli- 
 
220 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 Elizabeth, fhe might have remained a 
 favorite, even while her hufband was a 
 victim, but fhe inexorably infilled on 
 iharing h'S prifon, and when it foon after 
 became his grave, retired in an honourable 
 poverty, and owed her little income to 
 her brother's bounty. Thus, in inno- 
 cence and hallowed widowhood, parTed the 
 days of this amiable woman who now en- 
 joyed that firfl and laft of human plea- 
 ibres, the feeing herfelf furrounded with 
 friends, although fhe had only merit to 
 attach them. 
 
 The refentment of Philip the fecond 
 of Spain broke forth at this period, and 
 employed every one's thoughts ; more 
 efpecially the Queen's, with whom love 
 was ever fo fubordinate a confideration, 
 that I flattered myfelf Lord Leicefter 
 would chufe this opportunity to plan our 
 future meetings, and a little relieve me 
 from the infupportable tortures of perpe- 
 tual hvpocrify. When now, to complete 
 my evils, he for whom I renounced every 
 diithicYion due to my fex and birth, he 
 in whom my foul was treafured, regarded 
 
 me 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 221 
 
 me with coldnefs and difdain. I ex- 
 amined my own heart. It did not make 
 me a fingle reproach; but the know- 
 ing I was wronged could not reftore my 
 peace. I began to dread that fajtisfied 
 love had given place to ambition ; that 
 confidering me as the only bar between 
 himfelf and Elizabeth (who became more 
 and more gracious to him) he vainly re- 
 gretted he had made me lb My ha- 
 tred to the Queen redoubled, although 
 fhe treated me much better than my fifteij 
 as fhe always conceived Eliinor his fa- 
 vorite, becaufe the vehicle of his fenti- 
 ments to me : yet, though his difplea- 
 fure was flrongly marked, it did not 
 fpring from indifference; for at the fame 
 time he carefully avoided my converfa- 
 tion, he incelTantly watched my actions, 
 and was always in my view, without ever 
 being in my reach.— -It was impoffible 
 net to difcern that he muft be jealous ; but 
 alas, fufpicion foon makes the caufes it 
 feeks. My blufhes and the diforder of 
 my air, when any fuppoied lover ad- 
 dreflcd me, confirmed his fatal prejudice; 
 
 and 
 
222 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 and the impoffibility of finding an oppor- 
 tunity to acquit myTeif, almoft diffracted 
 me. Fortune, fliortfy after, added the only 
 aggravation my f\te admitted. 
 
 The fair Rofc Cecil, whofe attachment 
 I have mentioned, had infenfibly engaged 
 my affections by the warmth of her own. 
 The pleafure I took in difcourfing about 
 my Lord, made me overlook for a time, 
 that (he was equally unwearied of the 
 topic ; but the eager manner in which. 
 fhe revived it, while increafing forrow 
 buried his name in my heart, at laft opened 
 my eyes. I obferved her more clofely, I 
 faw the ftrong affection which impelled 
 her to be near to him, while her heightened 
 colour, and u.nverfal agitation, whenever 
 he addrelTed her, made the fecret incli- 
 nation of her heart but too obvious. 
 There are wives who would have feized 
 this occafion to retort, but fhe was fo in- 
 nocent that I could not diftruft her, and 
 was above appearing to do fo. Some ima- 
 ginary flight overcame a mind fo delicate, 
 and one evening Ihe indulged in her 
 tears, and unbofomed her whole heart. In 
 
 vain. 
 
THE RECESS, -&c. 223 
 
 vain, fiie faid, did years and circum- 
 ftances divide her from Lord Leicefter, 
 fince fhe took more pleafure in filemly ad- 
 miring him, than in being admired by 
 
 the whole world C( Ah, Madam, cried 
 
 fhe, how barbarous are hereditary hatreds ! 
 Exert your felt' for me, deareft Matilda, di- 
 ved my Lord's mind of Co narrow a preju- 
 dice, allured that this obligation will dou- 
 ble an attachment equally produced by 
 your own merit and the family you lprun°- 
 from." 
 
 What a propofal was this to a wife— to 
 a wife, did I fay? alas, to a lover-— a wild 
 and extravagant lover!— She embraced 
 me, and hid her tears and agitations on 
 
 my bofom a bofom which flruggled 
 
 with agonies yet more trying. Affected 
 alike with her innocence and her fate, I 
 returned her careffes, and wept like a mo- 
 ther over her child.— -She left me fuf- 
 ficient leifure to confider my anfwer j I 
 told her, that in pitying, I fhewed her all 
 .the kindnefs m my power, fince the little 
 influence 1 had with my Lord was obvious 
 
 enough. 
 
224 THE RECESS, feci 
 
 enough. I hinted that hers mud ever be a 
 hopelefs attachment, as the viiibie dif- 
 tinclion of the Queen made it very im- 
 probable Lord Leicefter fhould marry 
 any other woman, not to mention the vaft 
 difparity between her years and his. 
 
 She replied, that fhe had confidered 
 this over fo often, that fhe had reconciled 
 
 foerfelf to every article. The Queen 
 
 thought more, of war than marriage, and 
 furely if Lord Leicefter could be brought 
 to do juftice to her heart, her youth would 
 never be confidered as a fault. 
 
 In Ihort, 1 eafily nnderftood that what 
 fhe wifhcd fhe was refolved to hope. I 
 dropped the fr-bjecl, but it was with in- 
 finite chagrin I beheld this lovely girl en- 
 courage apaffion, fo many caufes concur- 
 red to render hopelefs. In fact, it did no.t 
 long efcape the Queen's notice, and the 
 unfortunate Rofe faw every body appear 
 to be acquainted With her weaknefs but 
 its object, who fhewed a coldnefs towards 
 her, almofl amounting to diflike : to me 
 fhe always flew for confolation, and I 
 3 ' fre- 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 225 
 
 frequently adminiftered that I could not 
 find. 
 
 On fo important an event as the expectecl 
 invalion, the Engliih were all prepared to 
 take arms : Lord Leicefter, as their leader, 
 was already encamped ; and I parted 
 with him in common with the other 
 Courtiers, without the liberty of uttering 
 a lyllable that might give peace to his 
 heart or my own. The mifery of my fitw- 
 ation became intolerable, when fear of my 
 Lord's fafety was added to every other 
 fear, and I refolved on an explanation, 
 whatever the confequence. The natural 
 afcendancy love and fuperior years gave 
 him over me when prefent, vanifhcd with 
 him: I wrote, intreatinghim to fuffer me by 
 knowing to repair an involuntary fault., an i 
 before it was too late, recover an affection 
 I could not long furvive. I conjured him 
 to remember that he was my all in this life, 
 and that if he continued to withhold his 
 confidence, I could only conclude he re- 
 pented the having ever beftowed it; and 
 fhould finally give up all care of a being, 
 
 Vou I. Q. which 
 
j 2 6 THE RECESS,.^. 
 
 -which was no longer dear to me than while 
 it was fo to him. 
 
 The equivocal turn of thefe exprefiions 
 I thought would fecure this letter, even 
 if intercepted, from producing any evil 
 confequence j and while dubious how to 
 convey it, Sir Philip Sydney demanded 
 permifilon to take leave of me: — not even 
 trie pangs I fuffered through his love, 
 could rob him of my regard — the dif- 
 guifing it was all in my power. To his 
 care I committed this letter, aflured he 
 might be trufted even with the truth; and 
 tranfported with the leaft mark of my con- 
 fidence, hepromifed all that lovers ufually 
 promife. 
 
 No fdorier was he gone, than I remem- 
 bered that the ill-chofen meffenger might 
 renderLordLeicefterinlenfible to the con- 
 tents of a letter bliftered with my tears. — 
 Alas! wnen once we enter the labyrinth 
 ef poffibilities, to which jealoufy is the 
 fatal centinel, hardly ever can we extri- 
 cate ourfelves. The gentle confolations 
 of Eilinor were all my fate had left me; 
 
 ; without 
 
THE RECESS, &. 227 
 
 ■without her, ficknefs muft have been the 
 confequence of forrow: but during the 
 hours of retirement (for one apartment 
 held us) fhe omitted nothing to ibothe or 
 ftrengthen my mind: — incomparable fil- 
 ter! what a foul was thine 1 . Oh 1 why 
 were tears my only tribute to thy bound- 
 •lefs generofity ? 
 
 At length Lord Brook arrived exprefs 
 from the camp, and took the firft oppor- 
 tunity to deliver me a letter from my 
 Lord. He faid I had found means to 
 •convert the accufer into the criminal, and 
 conjured me to pardon a mean jealoufv, 
 which puniihed itfelf. My too ready- 
 obedience to the Queen's command, he 
 added, and the obvious pleafure I appear- 
 ed to find in his nephew's oonveriation, 
 had poifoned every moment of his life 
 fmce I came to Court. Sydney's talents, 
 Iiis equal years, his generous difpofitio;:,. 
 -all confpired to make him a formidable 
 rival. "-I am not meanly jealous of your 
 perfon, continued he— no, Matilda, it is 
 your heart of which I am -ar mifer; nor 
 Q 2 do 
 
228 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 do I wifh you mine, whatever your lofs 
 may coft me, longer than you wifh your- 
 self fo. . Under the cruel circumftances 
 impofed on us, lefs might excufably alarm 
 a heart which has fo feverely fufFered for its 
 candor; yet, too juft in my nature to con- 
 fider that as your fault, which muft have 
 proved our mutual misfortune, I refolved 
 to bury in my bofom its killing fuggefti- 
 oris, and ceafe to perfecute you with a 
 pafllon which you dared not repel, how- 
 ever reluctant your heart. But that which 
 would have made a common mind jealous, 
 has eradicated the weaknefs from mine; 
 for nothing but fpotlefs innocence coulcl 
 have made you chufe out my imaginary 
 rival as the vehicle of your fentiments. 
 Truth and conviction flafh upon my be- 
 wildered fenfes, and love breathes through 
 every invaluable line of your dear letter. 
 —-How, how fhall I ever recompence you 
 for my injuflice? — I can no longer live 
 without humbling myfelf at your feet, 
 and receiving a pardon I fear I fhall never 
 deferve. I .have at length refolved to 
 
 confkle 
 
THE RECESS, &c. ttg. 
 
 confiide our fecret to Lady Arundel— 
 ibrrow and experience have furely taught 
 her difcrerion. Her houfe is the only re- 
 tired one to which you can come with 
 fafety. Appear indifpofed, and the 
 Queen will eafily allow you plea, if 
 you urge that you find yourfelf una- 
 ble to fupport the hurry and fatigue of 
 the times. I will prepare Lady Arun- 
 dell for your reception, and fnatch the 
 firft moment confident with my duty to 
 fly and enliven your folitude. The em- 
 brace that confirmed you mine was lefs 
 dear to me, than that which Will feal your 
 forgivenefs. — Oh! my love, ended he, 
 who could endure the tortures of doubt, 
 were not the moment of reconciliation fo 
 exquifite a tranlport!" 
 
 Ah, true indeed! for all the pleafures 
 of my life faded before that moment! I 
 feemed to tread in air, and had hardly 
 command enough of myfelf to affect lan- 
 guor and ficknefs. Elizabeth, who al- 
 ways found herfelf fatigued with in- 
 difpofition, becaufe not fubject to it, 
 Q 3 readily 
 
4$0 THE RECESS, for. 
 
 readily confented to my fpending a month 
 with Lady Arundell, who received me 
 with infinite pleafure. I found that fixe had 
 been apprized of my marriage only, and 
 that my Lord ftill withheld the fecret of 
 my birth. She allotted me a magnificent 
 apartment, which concluded with a fa- 
 loon, opening to the Thames. This no- 
 ble room was embellifhed with valuable 
 paintings, fome of which were not yes 
 finilhed, and a painter of eminence fre~ 
 quently attended to complete them. This 
 man was employed by her to take a pic- 
 ture of me> which might fill up the interval 
 of my Lord's ablence, as well as agreeably 
 iurprife him* While one day drefled gaily 
 for this purpofe, and waiting in the faloon, 
 I perceived the man enter, but how was I 
 furprifed to fee him a moment after at my 
 feet! I turned indignantly towards himj 
 Ah, heavens! it was my Lord, my Leir 
 cefter himfelf ! who fafe in. that difguije, 
 which he and Lady Arundell had agreed 
 on, was to forbid the painter whenever 
 he could vifit us with fafety. We learnt 
 from him news of the utmoil importance ; 
 
 that 
 
THE RECESS, &c; 231 
 
 that Heaven itfelf had fought for Eliza- 
 beth, and defeated an armada her power 
 could ill have coped with. This intel- 
 ligence, by fecuring Lord Leicester, 
 joyed even my heart -, and the pride of 
 forgiving being added to the pleafure 
 of loving, life could bellow no mors 
 on me. 
 
 I had now learnt to be beforehand with 
 fufpicion ; and as Sir Philip, charmed 
 with the opportunity of feeing me out of 
 the chilling circle of a Court, was almoft 
 a daily vifitor, I refolved to end his hopes, 
 even at the rifque of an implied con- 
 fidence. I could hardly fometimes for- 
 bear weeping to fee him thus purfuing a 
 fhadow, and wailing a glorious youth.— 
 Oh Sydney ! you were worthy of a better 
 fate, and could I accufe myfelf of em- 
 bittering yours, I fhould be a wretch in- 
 deed !---but no, I honored, revered, ad- 
 mired you; my, had I not already ex- 
 changed my heart, it muft have been yours 
 — you whom.fo many women have loved, 
 and no one was ever known to hate. 
 
 0^4 Having 
 
% 3 2 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 Having formed my refolution, I per- 
 mitted him one day to lead me to the ter- 
 race. Overjoyed with the diftinftion, he 
 entertained me with a thoufand pleafant- 
 fallies.— -Ah ! is there a more pungent 
 fenfation in nature, than the neceffity 
 fortune fometimes impofes on generous, 
 minds to afflict each other ? I opened my 
 lips— the truth hovered on them— but it 
 was not till he himfelf tenderly conjured 
 me to add language tomy exprefllve looks, - 
 and confide to him the fentiments I had 
 endeavoured to conceal, that I could 
 fpeak. " Alas! Sir Philip, cried I, why , 
 am I reduced to tell you, that your merit 
 and your attachment are by a combinati- 
 on of events my only misfortunes?" 
 
 " What do you utter, Madam ? cried 
 lie',— -is this pofiible ?"--- 
 
 " A painful truth, returned I, which 
 thehigheft efteem for you could alone ex- ; 
 tort.— I am fenfible of the influence of 
 Elizabeth, but believe me, I am among 
 thofe who cannot obey her." 
 
 "Obey her! returned he; does the fair 
 Matilda know fo little of me, as to ima- 
 
THE RECESS, &c; 233 
 
 gtne I would owe her hand to regal au- 
 thority? — No, Madam, Sydney would 
 not on fuch terms, he may proudly fay, 
 deign to accept even yourfelf. While my 
 pafiion was only my own misfortune, I 
 thought myfelf at liberty to indulge it, 
 but the moment it becomes yours, pride, 
 honor, fenfibility, all ordain eternal . filence.- 
 Yet, furely, added he, in an affe&ing: 
 tone, a heart like mine might hope to 
 know the fatality which thus wounds 
 it." 
 
 " By the love you have profeffed for 
 me, cried I, feizing his hand in turn with 
 energy j by the honor which actuates you 
 towards every human being, I conjure 
 you prefs no farther into a fecret I have 
 no right to reveal — if I had 
 
 " If you had! — ah lovely, generous, 
 candid Matilda — no, I will 'not invade 
 any myftery you think it necefi'ary to con- , 
 ceal. Since my hard fate deprives my- 
 youth of its fole charm and hope— yet- 
 furely time — may I hope nothing from 
 timer — age would ileal upon me un- 
 
 obferved 
 
234 T H E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 obferved were you but to allow me ex- 
 pectation." 
 
 "Why, why, cried I, weeping, am 
 4 compelled to a half confidence in a heart 
 fo noble ! — but be afTured, Sir Philip, 
 time can never unite us by any other 
 bonds than thofe of efteem; and furely, 
 every day mud flrengthen thofe." 
 
 " I think I understand you, replied 
 he, fixing his eyes on mine with a melan- 
 choly firmnefs, — and fhall I expofe you 
 to theungoverned paffions cf the Queen ? 
 -—no, -fmce I am never — fince eiteem is- 
 to be the only bond between us-- he 
 paufed, and kneeling killed both hands,- 
 as if taking an eveilaftino- leave— when 
 next you fee me— though I wring every 
 fibre of this heart-— when next you fee 
 me, I will feel intitled to all your ef- 
 teem." 
 
 Riling, he quitted me, and walked to- 
 wards his barge, with fad and irrefolute 
 Heps, frequently looking back as if he 
 was ready to return, and recant his decla- 
 ration : but the barge fwiftly conveying 
 him toward London, I gave free vent to 
 
 the 
 
THE R F C E S S, &c. 235 
 
 the tears I had with infinite difficulty fup- 
 prefTed. 
 
 The following evening Lord Lejcefter 
 had promifed to pafs with us: he arrived 
 with an air of fatisfaction it was iinpoffi- 
 ble I could avoid Sharing, even v/hile ig- 
 norant of its caufe. "Who would rely 
 on the conftancy of a lover, faid he> 
 with a happy fmile, fince even my Matil- 
 da's charms could not retain my ne- 
 phew's attachment ! He has fuddenly fol- 
 licited the Queen's confent to marry 
 Mifs Walfmgham ; you know her love for 
 him, but his amazes all acquainted wkh 
 both. Elizabeth calls him a whimfical 
 fool, but does not care to offend Sir 
 Francis by refufing her confent, however 
 dilbleafed at his thus matching himfelf — \ 
 the marriage will be celebrated in a few 
 days, and my Matilda is invited to her 
 rival's triumph." 1 
 
 Ah no, I mould have returned, had 
 his jealoufy not taught me caution, thy 
 Matilda has a triumph of her own to 
 enjoy. Alas, I now understood Sydney's 
 parting words, and my heart floated in 
 
 tears 
 
236 THE RECESS, 8b. 
 
 tears tinctured fo ftronglywith every fen- 
 timent but love, that I could hardly dii% 
 tinguifh whether that had not a fhare in 
 the fublimity of the moment. 
 
 My Lord prefTed me to return to Court 
 previous to the ceremony; he even gave 
 out that I meant to do fo, and this I only 
 underftood by a line which accompanied 
 the formal invitations fent to me and Lady 
 Arundell. "Ah, Madam, added Sir Phi- 
 lip, in the poftfcript, is it true that you 
 return ere my facrifkeis compleated?" 
 
 " No, I will not return, fighed I, a 
 hufband's claims extend no farther, and 
 humanity relumes its rights." 
 
 The dread that malicious obfervers 
 might once more pry into Lord Leicef 1 - 
 ter's moments of retirement, at laft con- 
 quered the reluctance I felt at returning to 
 Court. I faw, in defiance of danger, fclf- 
 indulgence continually increafed upon 
 him. At firft, a few hours of the evening 
 were all he devoted to me and Lady 
 
 Arundell; 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 2.76 
 
 Arundell; fhortly after he came.later and 
 palled the night : he then pleaded fear of 
 difgracing one or the other, and loft 
 whole days. -Couldft thou won- 
 der thy former marriage was difcovered? 
 faid I often to myfelf, after exhaufting all 
 my rhetorick in vain to drive him from 
 rne. — Oh Leicefter ! what was the wrath 
 of Elizabeth then, to that fhe would feel 
 could Hie explore the whole of this fe* 
 cret? I entreated Ellinor to write me 
 word my abfence was much remarked, 
 and at laft returned once more a voluntary 
 yidim. 
 
 A fad and filent admiration was the 
 only exprefiion of my features at the fight 
 of Sir Philip ; he fighed at the compliment 
 -indifpenfably due, which his bride re- 
 ceived with cold contempt.' To a coun- 
 tenance naturally harm and inquifitive, 
 however beautiful, Mils Walfmgham had 
 always united a temper, proud, paffionate, 
 and peevifh. Her ftrong attachment fo 
 Sir Philip, had in all inftances, where he 
 was concerned, fubdued for a time, or, 
 veiled thofe failings. He could not be 
 
 ignorant 
 
2 3 3 THE RECESS, feci 
 
 ignorant of a paffion he had fo often been 
 rallied upon, and the moment he found 
 it was not poffible for him to make his 
 own choice, he generoufly refolved to in- 
 dulge hers. His motives could not be 
 doubted, as all the Court knew fhe had 
 no fortune, and every body faw it was in 
 her power to become the happier! of wo- 
 men. — But alas, it was not in her na- 
 ture — far from feeking to win upon his 
 heart, by a filent indulgence of all his 
 little foibles, jfhe wearied him with im- 
 portunate fondnefs, and whenever bufi- 
 nefs or wearinefs drove him from home» 
 employed the interval in fomenting vi- 
 olent paflions, with which fhe feldorri 
 failed to overwhelm him on his return. 
 Incapable o{ bending fo nobie a mind as 
 his own to the little triumph of conquer- 
 ing a low one, and as incapable of re- 
 gulating his life by the narrow rules fhe 
 would have laid down for him, he faw no 
 alternative but the purfuit of glory, and 
 follicited to be fent to his government of 
 Flufhing. 
 
 3 ■ oh; 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 239 
 
 Oh, pardon me, beloved Leicefter, the 
 bitter tears I have fo often med for the 
 gallant Sydney. — Why, why had he not 
 chofen my fifter? She was free, fhe had a 
 hand, a heart, a perfon worthy his; fhe 
 would hav«=ef©wned his days with hap- 
 piness and his grave with honour. Alas, 
 in the weak pride of humanity we feek to 
 new model the diltinctions of nature, and 
 infolently oppofe our limited faculties to 
 omnifcience. 
 
 New difturbances in the Netherlands, 
 now obliged Lord Leicefter, as com- 
 mander in chief, to accompany his ne- 
 phew. I faw them both depart, with a 
 reluctance fo extreme as foreboded feme 
 calamity. The generous Sydney under- 
 ftood my filence, my conflicts, my wifhes. 
 " Rely on my cares — rely on my honor, 
 faid he at parting, and be aflured, my 
 breaft muft be cold as the earth which then 
 will cover it, ere that feels one wound 
 which lodges the fair Matilda's heart. — 
 Oh, let me worfhip the wife ordination 
 of Providence ! If amidlt all the evils 
 
 fate 
 
240 
 
 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 fate and imprudence have overwhelmed 
 me with, I ftill weakly feel a regret at 
 pronouncing a laft adieu, what mud I 
 have endured had I been the chofen I 
 but why by fuch a remembrance diflurb 
 her I love ! — Yet dear is the fenfibility, 
 adored Matilda — Oh let the tears which 
 now enrich your cheeks, be wholly Syd- 
 ney's!" 
 
 And they were wholly Sydney's ! A 
 fad prefentiment heightened the anguiih of 
 this parting, by telling me we never more 
 fhould meet. It remains not for my weak 
 pen to paint the heroic death of Sir 
 Philip Sydney j it has employed the 
 nobleft. Even envy and malice dropt 
 involuntary tears, while friendfhip was 
 exhaufted in vain lamentations. As to 
 me, I fet no bounds to my forrow, and 
 every reafon which once confined my 
 efteem for him to my own bofom, dying 
 with him, I mourned as for a darling bro- 
 ther •, and thus perpetuated the fecret ha- 
 tred of his widow, who, weak woman, 
 envied me even the melancholy privilege 
 of bewailing; him. 
 
 Anxiety 
 
THE RECESS, kc. 2±i 
 
 Anxiety for the fate of Lord Leicester, 
 which this event mufl nccelTarily excite, 
 too foon gave way to a ftill nearer care. 
 In vain I imputed my continual indifpo- 
 fuions to grief: time confirmed an ap- 
 prehension which had frequently alarmed 
 me immediately after my Lord's depar- 
 ture. I found but too plainly, that im- 
 prudent love had produced a new misfor- 
 tune, and that I bore about a living tefti- 
 mony of my marriage, from which the 
 word confequences might arife. 
 
 Ah, unhappy babe, thy mother's an- 
 guilh foreran thy birth ! Deprived by a 
 fad combination ot circumftances of a 
 welcome, throbs of terror were thy firft 
 fymptoms of exigence. This accumula- 
 tion of misfortune ieemed to benumb my 
 resfon. I knew not what to refolve on.- 
 I law myfelf aim oft in my royal mother's, 
 melancholy predicament when I was born. 
 <c Alas, perhaps I may to-morrow be en- 
 tirely fo, I would cry to myielf; let me fly 
 then while yet my prifon gates are open.". 
 — The eye of Elizabeth became yet more 
 Vol. I. R dreadful 
 
j 4 2 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 dreadful to me j 1 fancied every moment 
 it dived into my heart, and death for ever 
 Teemed to furround me in forms yet dearer 
 to me than my own. 
 
 My lifter's better fenfe eafily difcerned 
 how dangerous and how vain a project 
 flight mull prove. " You, me would 
 fay, whofe timid heart fhrinks even from 
 thofe it loves : who have hitherto trod the 
 mod fafe and confined circle ; who hardly 
 know what lonelinefs means; how, in 
 this fituation, can you encounter the pe- 
 rils of the road, the infolenceof ftrangers, 
 the dangers of the fea, and the terrors of 
 a camp ? Even admitting all thefe happily 
 paft, in following Lord Leicefter, you 
 only change the object of Elizabeth's re- 
 fentment j from which, diflance may not 
 fhield either you or your Lord. — Oh, 
 by how many ways may fhe revenge her- 
 felf ! — Leicefter it is true loves you ; but 
 in you, at prefent, are centred future 
 diftin&ion, pomp, and a variety of plea- 
 sures never yet indifferent to him : — thefe 
 will be the leaft of Jjis Icffes : and, be- 
 lieve 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 243 
 
 lieve me, if the fecret tranfpires, that i* 
 is his own way will one day prove your 
 deareft confblation : — and, furely, my 
 dear Matilda will not entirely forget a 
 lifter, whole only joy or forrow fhe yet: 
 has been." 
 
 The laft: tender confederation entirely 
 -fubdued a fpark of difpleafure excited by 
 the former. • 1 fubmitted my wavering 
 refolutions to her direction, and wrote an 
 anonymous letter, defcriptive of my foli- 
 ation, which, with innumerable charges, 
 Lady Arundell delivered to Lord Brook, 
 the diftinguifhed friend of Sir Philip Syd- 
 ney, to convey into Lord Lei cefter's own 
 hands. That amiable woman became the ! 
 confidant of my prefent fear, and with ' 
 -unwearied kindnefs conjured me to reh* • 
 upon her conduct— in her houfe fhe af- ' 
 fured me of an aiy lum, and in herfelf of ' 
 another mother for the unfortunate infant. ; 
 J felt all the indulgence of heaven in pro- 
 viding me fuch an unexpected refource.; ' 
 and-almoft wifhed I had not made my ! 
 Lord a partaker in cares, he i'as-ib little 
 R 2 pMc 
 
244 THE RECESS, &. c . 
 
 able to relieve. By her advice I fum- 
 moned courage to appear again in the 
 Court. " We feldom, faid the prudent 
 Lady Arundel), criticife thofe we fee every 
 day; novelty alone attracts curiofity ; and 
 if you are abfent any time, fome eye of 
 the many your return will attract, may 
 pierce through every veil into the caufe. 
 1 will carefully watch, and when neceffary, 
 warn you to retreat." 
 
 I found on my return, that the fair Rofe 
 Cecil had quitted London by the com- 
 mand of her father, who was highly in- 
 cenfed, alike at her refufal of a very ad- 
 vantageous match, and the pafllon that 
 caufed it. The lofs of her fociety, which 
 at another time I mould have lamented, 
 became an advantage in the prefent deli- 
 cate conjuncture. I no longer durft wilh 
 for companions 1 could not keep at a di-. 
 fiance ; and I hoped ere we met again that 
 I mould be more at liberty to cultivate 
 the attachment fhe profeffed to me, while 
 time would have conquered that unfor- 
 one which alone could interfere 
 
 I counted 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 245 
 
 I counted the moments ere a letter 
 could arrive from my Lord — -in vain EI- 
 linoraffured me the time was iniufficient, 
 had Lord Brook's journey met with no 
 delay. We were talking this over one 
 morning, when a loud knocking at the 
 door much earlier than ufual, flartled us 
 both ; how was I amazed a moment after 
 to fee my Lord rufh in, booted, and with 
 that difordered drefs and air which mew- 
 ed him juft arrived ! Pale and fpeechlefs, 
 I threw myfeif into his arms, and made 
 no other return to his embraces than by 
 fighs and tears, while Ellinor, (truck with 
 the Angularity of his conducl, repeatedly 
 demanded how he came there ? — -" To 
 fee, to lave my love, cried he, fixing his 
 eyes on mine with unutterable fondnefs ; 
 will not my Matilda blefs ine with ano- 
 ther leif? and could I be fuch a lavage 
 to leave her to face the pain, the grief, 
 the danger alone ? Dry your tears, my 
 • mod beloved, am not I with you ? 1, 
 whom you have made the happieft of 
 mankind j I, who wr.s born but to wor- 
 R 3 (hip 
 
246 THERE C E S S, &o 
 
 (hip you I — "Imprudent! cried T, ft rift- 
 ing my own bofom — alas, my love, how 
 is it I fee you here?" It feemed as if rea- 
 son, like light, pierced at once througfr- 
 thc chaos of his mind. Abforbed in the 
 iingle confideration of my Hate, he had 
 poiled to England without refting a mo- 
 ment on the receipt of my letter, nor could 
 imagine any caule fufficientto fatisfy even 
 indifferent obfervers, much more the jea- 
 lous foul of Elizabeth — " Ah, heavens ! 
 we are now indeed ruined, cried I, wring- 
 ing my hands, the implacable enemy of 
 my peace will become fo of yours,, and 
 every malicious eye will now be fixed on 
 her who links under the moll cafual. ob- 
 iervation. — Oh that the filent manfion in 
 which I fo long vegetated had been my 
 grave, fmce I quitted it but to become a 
 misfortune to the man I love?" — " Why 
 will rny Matilda, returned Lord Leicefter, 
 with a noble mildnefs, monopolize love 
 and generoiity ? Perhaps I have yet fufS- 
 cient influence over Elizabeth, to per- 
 iuade her, fears for her welfare alone 
 
 brought; 
 
THE RKCESS, &c. 247 
 
 brought me home; but even if not, 
 (hall I refuie to bear a fingle mortification 
 for her fake who has borne fo many for 
 mine? — The worn: fhe can difcover is our 
 marriage ; your birth is beyond the power 
 of malice. Summon your fortitude, my 
 love, and let us concert every meafure 
 neceffary to our mutual fafezy 3 for I will 
 take all the care of myfelf you would wifh. 
 me. Never more, I folemniy fwear, will 
 your hufband leave you. Dreams of for- 
 tune and favor fade away before the re- 
 alities of life y let us, with our darling 
 inter, feek a flicker in France 9 I want 
 not the means of affluence, independent 
 of the Queen. Let us then avow our 
 union, and thus convert my dear Matil- 
 da's tendernefs, always her firft charm, 
 alike into her virtue and her happinefs. 
 There, fafe from the vengeance of Eliza- 
 beth, we may, without fear or difhonor, 
 quietly await her diffolution. Imagine, 
 my love, the exquifite transport of encir- 
 cling the Throne of your mother with, 
 lovely pledges of cur union ; i^ while 
 empire fills every power of her imagina- 
 R 4 tion> 
 
248 THE RECESS, &t. 
 
 tion, nature may throb through every 
 pulfe to her heart." 
 
 The fond, fond vifion floated alike 
 through my brain ! Lord Leicefter, in- 
 different to the opinion of the Queen, re- 
 ceived to wait on her without entering 
 into the reafons of his return, which was 
 already known through the Court. Eli- 
 zabeth had for fome time kept her cham- 
 ber, neverthelefs Hie permitted him- an 
 audience ere me left her bed. I knew 
 her capricious temper, and while medi- 
 tating what line fhe meant to purfue, fe- 
 veral of her ladies then in waiting came 
 out of her chamber; the laft of whom 
 told me it was her pleafure, that I alone 
 ihould witnefs her converfation with Lord 
 Leicefter. Conference fhivered my whole 
 frame, and I entered the apartment as a 
 condemned wretch would that where the 
 rack was preparing. Lord Leicefter, 
 equally furprifed, pointed out by an ex- 
 preflive glance a place where the doled 
 curtain would prevent her remarking the 
 changes of my countenance j and thither, 
 ; more 
 
THE RECESS, k. 249, 
 
 more dead than alive, I took my ftation. 
 " Leicefter, faid fhe, in a languifhing 
 voice, thy unexpected return upon the 
 news of my indifpofition, is a frem mark 
 of thy watchful duty and unwearied af- 
 fection. I have long refilled that tender 
 inclination which d i ill ngui Hied thee in 
 earlieft youth; but now, when I have no 
 potent enemy to fear, I may crown thy 
 paffion and indulge my own, without 
 endangering myfelf or the fcate. — A new 
 plot 1 have difcovered to releaie Mary, 
 renders it abfolutely necefiary that I mould, 
 by marrying, cut off her hopes and thofe 
 of her party; I mall now, in turn, fur- 
 prife them. Long have I weighed the 
 bufmefs in my mind, and frequently de- 
 termined to recall thee; but thy unex- 
 pected return, by evincing the ftrength 
 of thy tendernefs, demands an immediate 
 recompence.-— Take then at lafu the fo- 
 long-withheld hand of Elizabeth, who 
 thus refigns all authority ever thee, ex- 
 cept that thy heart gives her." She pau£ 
 ed, extending a withered hand.- Lord 
 
 Leicefter, 
 
250 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 Leicefter, confufed beyond all exprefilorc, 
 and expecting me to drop fenfelefs every 
 moment, hefitated a few broken fentences 
 of faint gratitude, and luffed the fatal 
 hand fhe no longer drew from him, fixing 
 a moment after his eyes on me ; and oh, 
 how comprehenfive was the look! — ff I 
 perceive by thy trembling, my Lord, 
 continued me, how much I have furprized 
 thee. Recover thyfelf. — My election of 
 thee is expected by every one, and fhall 
 be immediate to mortify Mary. I find 
 myfelf well enough to quit my chamber; 
 it is my intention thou fhouldft lead me 
 hence this evening, and, by taking are- 
 gal feat under the fame canopy, prepare 
 the kingdom for the declaration Ipurpofe 
 making to-morrow. The ceremony of 
 efpoufal will demand time and fplendor> 
 but never more fhalt thou quit her, who 
 finds, after trying every effort, that it \s 
 impoflible to live without thee." 
 
 There are inftanccs in nature of timid 
 beings whom darknefs merely would de- 
 prive of their fenfes, who yet, on defpe- 
 
 rate 
 
THE RECESS, Bj£ &$* 
 
 rate emergencies, encounter the jarring- 
 elements without Ihrinking. — I, who had 
 till that moment been compofed of tears 
 and trembling, now found I mull no 
 longer hang a helplefs weight on the heart 
 of my hufband, and bleiling the caprice 
 which made her felect me as the only wit- 
 nefs of her dotage, I leant againft the ta- 
 peftry, and endeavoured, by a felf-col- 
 lected air, to arm him for the occafion*. 
 Lhad the mifery to fee his fortitude dimi- 
 nifh in proportion as mine increafed, and 
 that after ftruggling with his feelings till- 
 almoft convulfed,, he was obliged to quit 
 the prefence of the Queen precipitately,, 
 and fcarcely could his failing limbs con- 
 vey him thence. The attendants, before 
 difmilTed, now entering, the Queen called 
 the Lady Latimer to her bed fide, and I 
 followed the footfteps of my Lord.— 
 Heavens and earth, cried I, on looking 
 round in vain for him, what is now to 
 become of me! Even Ellinor, my only 
 comfort, fate had cruelly robbed me of, 
 nor was Hie to be found throughout the 
 
 whole 
 
5. 5 2 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 whole palace. Ere the tumults of my mind 
 could fubfide into recollection, I was in- 
 formed Lady Arundell's barge waited to 
 convey me to Chelfea, where fhe was great- 
 ly rnd'ifpqfed. Eafily imagining that this 
 was a feint of Lord Leicester's, to unfold 
 'his fentiments to me in fafety, I h aliened 
 into it 3 and was conveyed to the fatal foloon 
 on the banks of the Thames, once con- 
 fecrated to love and pleafure only. I 
 found Lord Leicefter alone with his niece, 
 meafuring the apartment with unequal 
 ileps and a diffracted air; he took my 
 hand, and foftening with pity for my fitu- 
 ation, led me to a feat, and threw himfelf 
 by me. Kis tears bedewed the hand he 
 
 killed. ct Support yourfeif (till, my 
 
 foul, faid he, the crifis is come unawares j 
 and fate is beforehand with our intentions. 
 Elizabeth indeed has lurprized me, but as 
 her pafiion, however weak and abfurd, is 
 generous, it now (labs me to the heart,.- - 
 To fuffer her to publifh it to the world, 
 to llamp with ridicule my Sovereign, my 
 benefactrefs, would no doubt awaken her 
 
 molt 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 253 
 
 moil mortal hatred, and rob me of my 
 own efteem. — Matilda, my love, can you 
 fupport the truth, and all the truth ? — Did 
 I not tell you that, one day or another, 
 your anxious wifli of feeing your mother 
 free might interfere with your own hap- 
 piHefs ? It has indeed; for even at the' 
 moment the Queen in tender confidence 
 imparted to me a plot to releafe Mary, fhe 
 meant to obviate by her own marriage, 
 my fecret foul upbraided me as an abet- 
 tor, if not a principal in that plot. — Hap- 
 py in the idea of furprifing you with its 
 event, and far from expecting fo extraor- 
 dinary a one on the part of the Queen, I 
 find by papers Lord Burleigh gave me ere 
 I entered her apartment, that the enthuli- 
 aftic afliilants of Mary meditated the 
 martyrdom of Elizabeth, and have reafon 
 to imagine, that fhe by this time knows 
 the man whom fhe was willing to level 
 with herfelf, hzs been capable of fo infa- 
 mous a concealment. Nay, how do I 
 know how far I may be included in the 
 barbarity? She may be led to believe, that 
 the hand to which flie gave her own an 
 
 hour 
 
2 5 4 THE RECESS, ftc. 
 
 hour ago, was armed with a dagger, and 
 ready every moment to ufe it. — My life is 
 at ftake, and oh! what is infinitely dearer, 
 every virtue Which once I hoped would 
 long furvive me, cancelled by ingrati- 
 tude." — The agitations of his mind almoft 
 • deprived him of his fenfes. — I threw my- 
 felt at his feet. — ■" Oh ! if ever the unfor- 
 tunate Matilda was dear to you, cried I, 
 .now fhew it — now druggie to endure for 
 her — hasfhe ever feared to do fo for you ? • 
 It is in vain to hope any thing from Eli- 
 zabeth, as circumftances appear ilie mull 
 condemn you. — Already 1 fee you in the 
 Tower — I fee thofe gates open to receive 
 you, that have entombed fo many alike 
 noble and innocent. If you v/ould have • 
 the babe its mother's anguifh almoft urges 
 into a premature exiftence — oh ! if ycu 
 would have it fee the light of heaven, 
 plunge her no farther in defpair. — Fly 
 now, now, this very moment while we have 
 yet the power. While you live your in-- 
 :iocencemay yet be vindicated; and while 
 you live! may perhaps be able to do fo." 
 3 . . Lord 
 
THE RECESS, k 255 
 
 Lord Leicefter, making his head, gave 
 a deep figh— a figh more foul -piercing 
 than the mod violent agitation. — <c You 
 know not what you fay, my love, return- 
 ed he — even now, in all probability, my 
 houfe is lurrounded, and expreffes dis- 
 patched to clofe every port in the king- 
 dom, fhould I attempt to leave it; and 
 hardly is there a ruftic in England to whom 
 my features are unknown. One expedient 
 alone remains, and greatly would that 
 foften the ftroke. You are neither ex- 
 pofed to my danger, nor like me the 
 marked of every eye — flight is ftill in your 
 power, and in you I fhall ftill think my- 
 felf fafe — put yourfelf under the protec- 
 tion"—-" Never, cried I, darting up with 
 vehemence; I am your wife, that holy 
 title I will maintain before men and an- 
 gels, and nothing— nothing-I in turn fo- 
 lemnly fwear fhall psrt us. I will, with 
 watchful duty, fhare the prifon to which 
 I fhall always remember I have con- 
 demned you ; and oh ! if your fate is 
 accelerated by my means, be allured I 
 
 -alike will fhare your grave." <c One 
 
 hope 
 
2 5 6 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 hope of fafety is yet yours, cried Lady 
 Arundel!. How could itefcapeyou that 
 the Recefs may iliii fupply a fad and 
 dear afylurn till we can judge of cir- 
 cumdances?"—- The thought had indeed 
 occurred to me,, but I dared not name 
 riie memorial of the prefent misfortune. 
 I examined his eyes in filence. " My 
 gentle love, my ivveet Matilda, can I 
 refolve to grieve thee, fighed he, fpeak, 
 would you wifh me to conduct you 
 thither ?" My tears only allowed me to 
 pronounce, i: yes." C( Yet how, renamed, 
 he, is it pofilble ?-— How can you fup- 
 port the inevitable fatigues of the jour- 
 ney, with the addition of its fears in 
 your prefent fituation ?" IC I can fup- 
 port any thing, every thing, fobbed I in- 
 articulately, but the idea of your danger." 
 <c Yes, my love, added he, ki fling away 
 my tears, I will, if poflible, live to re- 
 ward your unexampled tendernefs. Lady 
 Arundeil think for us, fuggeft the mode 
 of our departure." " It mould be fudden, 
 cried our generous friend, and how can 
 cither be iufficiently difguifed, or how 
 
 fhall 
 
THE RECESS, &c, 257 
 
 mail we find proper attendants." tc We 
 will have none with us, returned Lord 
 Leicefter, I rely on your care to fummon 
 Le Val from Kenilworth Caftle; he is 
 matter of the fecret of the Recefs, whi-r 
 ther lie can follow us, and convey with 
 eafe, at different times, the treafure 
 hoarded in the Caftle j while with the ve- 
 nerable fofter-father of my love, we wait 
 
 your farther informations." cc Ah, 
 
 how happy was it, added I, your fond- 
 nefs obliged me to ride! now can I 
 follow you fearlefs of any thing but Eli- 
 zabeth. Supply me, dear Lady Arundel!, 
 with the homely garb of a fervant; my 
 Lord muft have recourfe to the dif- 
 guife of a painter, invented and worn on 
 a happier occafion, yet if even I hardly 
 knew him in it, who elfe mall difcover 
 him? Oh, hade my darling friend! lecure 
 us the fleeteft horfes— I feem every mo- 
 ment environed with the guards of Eli- 
 zabeth—when fhall we be any thing but 
 a trouble to you ?" 
 
 The amiable Lady Arundell provided 
 
 all in the manner required, and we let 
 
 Vol. I. S off 
 
2 5 S THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 off" immediately. Ere fun-fetwe reached 
 a peafant's cot near St. Alban's, where my 
 Lord infifted we might with fafety take a 
 little red, which indeed I greatly re- 
 quired. Accuflomed to pafs and repafs 
 that road for ever, he fancied he remem- 
 bered every face he faw, and I too furely 
 thought all remembered him. Our rui- 
 tic hoft and his wife feemed to have juft 
 underftanding enough to connect the idea 
 of myftery with us, and I roufed my 
 Lord ere break of day, fecretly refolving 
 no more to enter any houfe till we reach- 
 ed our afylum. Even the profufe re- 
 compence my Lord beftowed on the pea- 
 fants, rather according with his foul than 
 his appearance, excited their fufpicions; 
 they prefied us to flay in a manner which 
 pointed mine, and we departed with a 
 precipitation which I doubt not confirmed 
 theirs: purfuing our journey by roads 
 little frequented, Lord Leicefter being 
 perfectly acquainted with the ground. I 
 went through incredible fatigues without 
 complaint i riding the whole day with no 
 
 5 other 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 259 
 
 other refrefhment than a draught of new 
 milk, fupplied by a girl as we parTed along; 
 till as the fun was declining, we reached 
 a brow which commanded St. Vincent's 
 Abbey. At the well known profpect my' 
 heart dilated— -my eyes wandered over 
 the whole with fenfations our firft horr j 
 
 only can incite. — Nature Teemed to 
 
 tinge the woods wirh deeper verdure— 
 the tranflucenc dream meandered in ma- 
 jeftic filence, undifturbed by noify barge- 
 men. -—Innocence feemed to reft under 
 the fhade of the willows which every 
 where fringed its margin, and the em- 
 purpled fun diffufed the repofe he feemed 
 hafteningto partake—an invinciblecharm 
 took porTelTion of my heart, and even the 
 fenfe of misfortune was for the moment 
 fufpended. 
 
 " Here, cried T, checking my horle, 
 here we fhall befafe— ah, more than fafe, 
 here we may be happy !---Why, why 
 cannot thofe hours return when firft we 
 met? thofe hours of undefcribable fe- 
 licity ? --This landscape then bounded 
 S 2 our 
 
260 THE RECESS, &c. 
 
 our wifhes; in its narrow circle is con- 
 tained all necefiary to exiftence, in our- 
 felves all efiential to happinefsr but fo- 
 cietv, that firft of bleilino'S, brings with 
 it evils death only can cure. And the 
 venerable Father Anthonv, with what 
 j.w---ah! with what forrow will he re- 
 ceive us-— forewarned even by cur pre- 
 fence of affliction, he will hardly dare 
 to indulge the rapture of a moment."--- 
 Every fentiment and fenfation mingling 
 thus in my mind, filled the interval ere 
 we arrived at the foot,, where my heart 
 recognized the minuted obj eel. Alight- 
 ing at fome diftance, Lord Leicefter fat- 
 tened the horfes in an obfeure part of 
 the wood, and we proceeded on foot to 
 the hermit's cave. Evening began now 
 to gloom over the hemifphere. — I had 
 before agreed not to open my lips, rill 
 my Lord had by degrees revealed hhn.- 
 ielf to Father Anthony, whole enfeebled 
 fenfes might not be able to refill the 
 furprife.; but how did that return upon 
 ourielves, when a voice with which we 
 
 were 
 
THE RECESS, SEP. 261 
 
 were unacquainted replied to us without 
 opening the door! He^ it- (truck I caught 
 the arm of Lord Leicester, who eagerly 
 enquired after the hermit. ' c He has 
 been dead thefe ten days, returned the 
 man, and is interred among the Scti 
 family in the vault of St. Vincent's Ab- 
 bey : I am placed here to protect the 
 few effects he left behind, till his relati- 
 ons fh >11 direct what is to be done \ 
 them."---" And thus vaniflrour hopes of 
 iafety, peace, and pleafure, fighed I, turn- 
 ing difconfolately from the cave. Oh,, 
 fainted Anthony, I have now no tears for 
 thee, and mat lofs I mould lately have 
 fhed floods for, is now heard with in. .In- 
 ference. Where, wretched wanderers as 
 we are, where now can we betake our- 
 ielves ? Had we ftaid in London, friend- 
 fnip, nay interelt, might have fheltered 
 us ; here 1 am as well known as you we- 
 there, and the poffeffors of St. Vincent's 
 Abbey will infallibly difcover both. Kay 
 we know not who thofe are, and whether 
 we might not throw ourfelves into the 
 
 power 
 
262 T R E R E C E S S, &c. 
 
 power of our word enemies. Alas, my 
 love, what do yon fuffbr for my fake ! yet 
 ic is in vain to affect (trength ; nature fails, 
 and I muft reft if only on the damp earth." 
 — " Gracious God ! exclaimed Lord Lei- 
 ceiler, fupporting me in his arms, how 
 have we deferved this accumulation of 
 evils? Let us wind through the wood; 
 who knows, my Matilda, but providence 
 has left the gate of the tomb open to fhel- 
 ter us? It is plain, the peafant who inha- 
 bits the cave is not acquainted with the 
 fccrecs of father Anthony, and in all pro- 
 bability that' of the Recefs died with him. 
 Oh ! ftruggle a little, but a little, my 
 love, ibmething bids me believe Heaven 
 will vet protect us." 
 
 Though faint between want of nourish- 
 ment and exceffive fatigue, I yet ltrove to 
 follow mv Lord, but did it fo fiowly, that 
 night entirely involved us ere we reached 
 the tomb. Long cuftom, however, ena- 
 bled me to lead him aright.---" It is open, 
 cried he, in a tranfport of joy, come, my 
 Icve, and let me aflift you to enter."--- Ke 
 
 did 
 
THE RECESS, &c. 263 
 
 did fo, but hardly was I within it, ere I 
 found myfelf violently feized by feveral 
 perfons, who inftantly deprived me of the 
 power of utterance had htaven allowed it, 
 but agony and horror fo entirely overcame 
 me, that I funk fenfelefs in their arms. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
1 
 
 V 
 
 Mr "